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An Activity Guide for Imam

An-Nawawis 40 Hadith
For Children

http://ummannuman.weebly.com/
2009 Umm An-Numan

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An Activity Guide for Imam


An-Nawawis 40 Hadith
By: Umm An-Numan

*The lessons of each of the 40 hadith An-Nawawi were taken from the following sources:
http://www.qss.org/articles/nw40/01.html (with written permission) and
http://fortyhadith.iiu.edu.my/hadiths.htm (several attempts were made to contact
http://fortyhadith.iiu.edu.my/ with no success. I hope that because I have changed nothing of the text
this is acceptable. If not, I would gladly welcome contact from the site to obtain written permission
inshaAllah)alhamdulillah. The wording was only changed in the cases where the language level was too
high for school aged children, otherwise no wording was changed that would alter the meaning of the
text inshaAllah.
Some of the graphics used in this activity guide are from The Wonderful Bookroom for Muslim Sisters
and other photos have the copyright information underneath the photo. All other clipart is public
domain clipart inshaAllah.

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Hadith 1
The Text:

It is narrated on the authority of Amirul Mu'minin, Abu Hafs 'Umar bin al-Khattab, radiyallahu
'anhu, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah,

, say:

"Actions are (judged) by intentions (niyyah), so each man will have what he intended. Thus, he
whose migration (hijrah) was to Allah and His Messenger, his migration is to Allah and His
Messenger; but he whose migration was for some worldly thing he might gain, or for a wife he
might marry, his migration is to that for which he migrated."
[Al-Bukhari & Muslim]

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Lessons from
this Hadith

This hadith emphasizes ikhlas (sincerity - to be truthful and honest to Allah alone,
performing an act solely for Allah's sake whereby no other witness except Allah is
sought). Ikhlas is one of the conditions of accepting good deeds. The other condition is
that the actions must be done in accordance with the Shariah (Islamic Law).

Everything we do has to be intended to be for Allah. This means for anything we do we


want to make sure that it will be acceptable to Him and will not in any way interfere
with the upholding of His Deen). A good action with the wrong intention will not get us
any reward in the Hereafter.
To achieve ikhlas, we have to avoid shirk (associating others with Allah, which causes
insincerity). Al-Imam al-Harawi said the root cause for insincerity (or shirk) is self-desire
(al-hawa). Therefore no action should be done because of self-desire.

Imam al-Harawi states that there are 7 types of self-desires:I.


II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.

To make oneself appear good in the hearts of others


To seek the praises of others
To avoid being blamed by others
To seek the glorification of others
To seek the wealth/money of others
To seek the services or love of others
To seek the help of others for oneself

Ways to obtain ikhlas:

Do righteous deeds - the more good deeds we do and hence get closer to Allah,
the more sincere we will be.
Before we do any deed we should firstly seek knowledge (ilm) - our
actions/deeds should be guided by knowledge so that we do them in accordance
to the Shariah (Islamic Law).
Do not give false impressions - do not make others believe that an action we did
was good when it was not.
Al-Imam Ahmad said: Before you do anything, check your intention (niyyah) - ask
yourself before performing an action: "Is it for the sake of Allah?"

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Ibnu al-Qayyim says: Any action we do is subject to three defects:


i.
ii.
iii.

Being conscious that others are observing our actions


Seeking a return (benefit/reward) for the action
Being satisfied with the action

Examples:

If we go to the masjid for the salah and we are early, arriving before the Imam
and finding a place in the first saff (prayer row/line), we should not be proud of
ourselves and think of ourselves being better than others. We should praise
Allah for enabling us to go to the masjid and for being able to perform the salah
without any difficulties.
After every salah, we should tell ourselves that we could have performed it
better and try to improve in our next salah.

What happens if we were to change our niyyah while performing an action? Ibn Rajab
says according to the ulama' if the niyyah at the end of the action matches the
beginning (i.e. doing the action for the sake of Allah), then any changes in the middle of
the action will be forgiven or does not matter, insha Allah. However, if the niyyah at the
end does not match the beginning, i.e. we do the action for other than the sake of Allah,
then we must repent (taubah).
There are four things that contradict ikhlas:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.

Ma'siat - committing sins - this will weaken our ikhlas


Shirk - associating others with Allah
Riya' - performing an ibadah with the intention of showing off to others
Nifaq - hypocrisy

Even though we must always make sure that our actions do not deviate from ikhlas,
there are actions, which are automatically considered that of good intentions. For
example, seeking knowledge in Islam, helping the community, doing da'wah, etc.

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Vocabulary

Amirul Mumeneen
Niyyah
Worldly
Ikhlas (Sincerity)

Hijrah
Gain

Leader of the Believers. This is the title that


was given to Umar ibn Al-Khattab.
Intention.
of or pertaining to this world as contrasted
with heaven, spiritual life, etc.;
to be truthful and honest to Allah alone,
performing an act solely for Allah's sake
whereby no other witness except Allah is
sought. Freedom from trying to conceal or
change the truth with the goal of misleading;
freedom from hypocrisy; freedom from
speaking or acting in two different ways
concerning the same matter with intention to
deceive.
Migration. To go from one country, region, or
place to another.
to get (something desired), to obtain as a
profit.

Word Scramble
Unscramble the words below:
1. akilhs________________

2. ihynya________________

3. hihraj________________

4. aign________________

5. woydlrl________________

6. iamnmmnurlueee________________

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Comprehension
Check

1). Which sahabi narrated this hadith?


a). Amirul Muminin
b). The Prophet
c). Umar ibn Al-Khattab
d). Both a and c
2). What did the Prophet

say was judged by a persons intentions?

a). Deeds
b). Actions
c). Hijrah
d). None of the above
3). Did the Prophet
say what reward a person would get if they
made hijrah for any other reason than for Allah and His Messenger?
a). Yes
b). No
4). What two things, that were not for Allah and His Messenger, did
the Prophet
say a person might migrate for?
a). A job
b). Some worldly gain
c). Marriage to a woman
d). To buy a new house
e). To fight in a war
f). Both a and c
g). Both b and c

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Memorization

Write the text of the hadith from memory below in Arabic or if you
are still learning to write in Arabic, write the text of the hadith English.
After you have written what you remember return to the hadith to
verify that you have written it correctly, leaving nothing out
inshaAllah.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Memorization

Fill in the blanks inshaAllah.


Several words are missing from the hadith. Use the word bank to fill in
the blanks inshaAllah.

Word Bank

Actions

Intended
Authority

Migration
Niyyah

Abu Hafs
Worldly

It is narrated on the _____________ of Amirul Mu'minin, ___________


'Umar bin al-Khattab, radiyallahu 'anhu, who said: I heard the Messenger of
Allah,
, say:
"____________ are (judged) by ___________ (intention), so each man will
have what he _____________. Thus, he whose migration (hijrah) was to
Allah and His Messenger, his migration is to Allah and His Messenger; but he
whose _______________ was for some __________thing he might gain, or
for a wife he might marry, his migration is to that for which he migrated."
[Al-Bukhari & Muslim

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Applying the hadith to


self

List some of the actions you have done or want to do inshaAllah.


Write how these actions can be done only for the sake of Allah.
The Action

How it is for the sake of Allah


Alone?

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Personal Reflection
Answer the questions below.
1). Do you think it is easy to always do things for the sake of Allah
Alone? Why or why not?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

2). Do you think that you usually pay attention to your niyyah
(intention) when you do things? What do you think you can do to
improve that inshaAllah?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

3). How can a good action be done with the wrong intention?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

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4). Give two examples of good actions that can be done with the
wrong intention.
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

5). Give two examples of sincerity.


___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

6).The opposite of sincerity is insincerity. Give two examples of


insincerity.
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

7).Which is better, being sincere or insincere? Why?


___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

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Activities

Matching
Match the words in the left hand column with the phrases in left hand
column inshaAllah.

a. Umar ibn Al-Khattab

b. Actions
c. Hijrah

1. Leaving one land or country


and moving to another land
or country for the sake of
Allah.
2. The books of hadith that this
hadith can be found in.

d. Migration for
3. The narrator of the hadith
e. Niyyah
4. Intentions
f. Bukhari & Musilm
5. These are judged by our
niyyah.
6. A worldly thing to be gained
or to marry

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Crossword Puzzle

Hadith 1
1

ACROSS
4 A worldly thing to be gained or to marry
6 These are judged by our niyyah

DOWN
1 The books of hadith that this hadith can
be found in.
2 Khattab/ The narrator of the hadith
3 Leaving one land or country and moving
to another land or country for the sake of
Allah.
5 Intentions

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Crossword Puzzle Solution

Hadith 1

H
I
J
G R
A
H

U
M
A
R
I O N
B
N
A
L

N
I
Y
Y
A
H

B
U
K
H
A
F O R
I
A
N
D
M
U
O N S
L
I
M

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Biography
Umar ibn Al-Khattab
The Second Caliph, Umar (634-644 A.C.)
"God has placed truth upon Umar's tongue and heart."

[Hadith]

'Umar's Life
During his last illness Abu Bakr had conferred with his people, particularly the more eminent among
them. After this meeting they chose 'Umar as his successor. 'Umar was born into a respected Quraish
family thirteen years after the birth of Muhammad (peace be on him). Umar's family was known for its
extensive knowledge of genealogy. When he grew up, 'Umar was proficient in this branch of knowledge
as well as in swordsmanship, wrestling and the art of speaking. He also learned to read and write while
still a child, a very rare thing in Mecca at that time. 'Umar earned his living as a merchant. His trade
took him to many foreign lands and he met all kinds of people. This experience gave him an insight into
the affairs and problems of men. 'Umar's personality was dynamic, self-assertive, frank and straight
forward. He always spoke whatever was in his mind even if it displeased others.

'Umar was twenty-seven when the Prophet (peace be on him) proclaimed his mission. The ideas
Muhammad was preaching enraged him as much as they did the other notables of Mecca. He was just as
bitter against anyone accepting Islam as others among the Quraish. When his slave-girl accepted Islam
he beat her until he himself was exhausted and told her, "I have stopped because I am tired, not out
of pity for you." The story of his embracing Islam is an interesting one. One day, full of anger against
the Prophet, he drew his sword and set out to kill him. A friend met him on the way. When 'Umar told
him what he planned to do, his friend informed him that 'Umar's own sister, Fatima, and her husband
had also accepted Islam. 'Umar went straight to his sister's house where he found her reading from
pages of the Qur'an. He fell upon her and beat her mercilessly. Bruised and bleeding, she told her
brother, "Umar, you can do what you like, but you cannot turn our hearts away from Islam." These
words produced a strange effect upon 'Umar. What was this faith that made even weak women so
strong of heart? He asked his sister to show him what she had been reading; he was at once moved to
the core by the words of the Qur'an and immediately grasped their truth. He went straight to the house
where the Prophet was staying and vowed allegiance to him.

Umar made no secret of his acceptance of Islam. He gathered the Muslims and offered prayers at the
Ka'aba. This boldness and devotion of an influential citizen of Mecca raised the morale of the small
community of Muslims. Nonetheless 'Umar was also subjected to privations, and when permission for
emigration to Medina came, he also left Mecca. The soundness of 'Umar's judgment, his devotion to the
Prophet (peace be on him), his outspokenness and uprightness won for him a trust and confidence from
the Prophet which was second only to that given to Abu Bakr. The Prophet gave him the title 'Farooq'
which means the 'Separator of Truth from False hood.' During the Caliphate of Abu Bakr, 'Umar was his
closest assistant and adviser. When Abu Bakr died, all the people of Medina swore allegiance to 'Umar,
and on 23 Jamadi-al-Akhir, 13 A.H., he was proclaimed Caliph.

'Umar's Caliphate
After taking charge of his office, 'Umar spoke to the Muslims of Medina: "...O people, you have some
rights on me which you can always claim. One of your rights is that if anyone of you comes to me

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with a claim, he should leave satisfied. Another of your rights is that you can demand that I take
nothing unjustly from the revenues of the State. You can also demand that... I fortify your
frontiers and do not put you into danger. It is also your right that if you go to battle I should look
after your families as a father would while you are away. O people, remain conscious of God,
forgive me my faults and help me in my task. Assist me in enforcing what is good and forbidding
what is evil. Advise me regarding the obligations that have been imposed upon me by God..."

The most notable feature of 'Umar's caliphate was the vast expansion of Islam. Apart from Arabia,
Egypt, Iraq, Palestine and Iran also came under the protection of the Islamic government. But the
greatness of 'Umar himself lies in the quality of his rule. He gave a practical meaning to the Qur'anic
injunction:

"O you who believe, stand out firmly for justice as witnesses to God, even as against yourselves,
or your parents, or your kin, and whether it concerns rich or poor, for God can best protect
both." [4:135]

Once a woman brought a claim against the Caliph 'Umar. When 'Umar appeared on trial before the
judge, the judge stood up as a sign of respect toward him. 'Umar reprimanded him, saying, "This is the
first act of injustice you did to this woman!"

He insisted that his appointed governors live simple lives, keep no guard at their doors and be
accessible to the people at all times, and he himself set the example for them. Many times foreign
envoys and messengers sent to him by his generals found him resting under a palm tree or praying in
the mosque among the people, and it was difficult for them to distinguish which man was the Caliph.
He spent many a watchful night going about the streets of Medina to see whether anyone needed help
or assistance. The general social and moral tone of the Muslim society at that time is well-illustrated
by the words of an Egyptian who was sent to spy on the Muslims during their Egyptian campaign. He
reported:

"I have seen a people, every one of whom loves death more than he loves life. They cultivate
humility rather than pride. None is given to material ambitions. Their mode of living is simple...
Their commander is their equal. They make no distinction between superior and inferior,
between master and slave. When the time of prayer approaches, none remains behind..."

'Umar gave his government an administrative structure. Departments of treasury, army and public
revenues were established. Regular salaries were set up for soldiers. A popuation census was held.
Elaborate land surveys were conducted to assess equitable taxes. New cities were founded. The areas
which came under his rule were divided into provinces and governors were appointed. New roads were
laid, canals were lug and wayside hotels were built. Provision was made for he support of the poor and
the needy from public funds. He defined, by precept and by example, the rights and privileges of nonMuslims, an example of which is the following contract with the Christians of Jerusalem:

"This is the protection which the servant of God, 'Umar, the Ruler of the Believers has granted to
the people of Eiliya [Jerusalem]. The protection is for their lives and properties, their churches and
crosses, their sick and healthy and for all their coreligionists. Their churches shall not be used
for habitation, nor shall they be demolished, nor shall any injury be done to them or to their
compounds, or to their crosses, nor shall their properties be injured in any way. There shall be
no compulsion for these people in the matter of religion, nor shall any of them suffer any injury
on account of religion... Whatever is written herein is under the covenant of God and the
responsibility of His Messenger, of the Caliphs and of the believers, and shall hold good as long as
they pay Jizya (the tax for their defense) imposed on them."

Those non-Muslims who took part in defense together with the Muslims were exempted from paying
Jizya, and when the Muslims had to retreat from a city whose non-Muslim citizens had paid this tax for

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their defense, the tax was returned to the non-Muslims. The old, the poor and the disabled of Muslims
and non-Muslims alike were provided for from the public treasury and from the Zakat funds.

'Umar's Death
In 23 A.H., when Umar returned to Medina from Hajj;, he raised his hands and prayed, "O God! I am
advanced in years, my bones are weary, my powers are declining, and the people for whom I am
responsible have spread far and wide. Summon me back to Thyself, my lord!" Some time later,
when 'Umar went to the mosque to lead a prayer, a Magian named Abu Lulu Feroze, who had a grudge
against 'Umar on a personal matter, attacked him with a dagger and stabbed him several times. Umar
reeled and fell to the ground. When he learned that the assassin was a Magian, he sid, "Thank God he
is not a Muslim."

'Umar died in the first week of Muharram, 24 A.H., and was buried by the side of the Holy Prophet
(peace be on him).

Source:

www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/

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Hadith 2
The Text:

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Also on the authority of 'Umar, radiyallahu 'anhu, who said:

"While we were one day sitting with the Messenger of Allah,


, there appeared before us a
man dressed in extremely white clothes and with very black hair. No traces of journeying were
visible on him, and none of us knew him.

He sat down close by the Prophet,

, rested his knee against his thighs, and said, O

Muhammad! Inform me about Islam." Said the Messenger of Allah,


, "Islam is that you should
testify that there is no deity save Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger, that you should
perform salah (ritual prayer), pay the zakah, fast during Ramadan, and perform Hajj (pilgrimage)
to the House (the Ka'bah at Makkah), if you can find a way to it (or find the means for making
the journey to it)." Said he (the man), "You have spoken truly."
We were astonished at his thus questioning him and telling him that he was right, but he went on
to say, "Inform me about iman (faith)." He (the Messenger of Allah) answered, "It is that you
believe in Allah and His angels and His Books and His Messengers and in the Last Day, and in fate
(qadar), both in its good and in its evil aspects." He said, "You have spoken truly."
Then he (the man) said, "Inform me about Ihsan." He (the Messenger of Allah) answered, " It is
that you should serve Allah as though you could see Him, for though you cannot see Him yet He
sees you." He said, "Inform me about the Hour." He (the Messenger of Allah) said, "About that
the one questioned knows no more than the questioner." So he said, "Well, inform me about the
signs thereof (i.e. of its coming)." Said he, "They are that the slave-girl will give birth to her
mistress, that you will see the barefooted ones, the naked, the destitute, the herdsmen of the
sheep (competing with each other) in raising lofty buildings." Thereupon the man went off.
I waited a while, and then he (the Messenger of Allah) said, "O 'Umar, do you know who that
questioner was?" I replied, "Allah and His Messenger know better." He said, "That was Jibril. He
came to teach you your religion.""
[Muslim]

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Lessons from
this Hadith

That the Angel Gabriel himself came to teach the fundamentals of the Faith to the

Sahaba (Companions) by asking questions to the Messenger


.
An angel can come in the shape of a man who can be seen by people.
As part of the Islamic manners, one of the good ways of sitting with the teacher is to sit
with one's knees against him and placing your hands together on the thighs of the
teacher.
One can teach others by asking about that which he already knows.
The teacher should answer the questions even if he knows that the person asking (the
questioner) is aware of the answers.
Although the thigh is part of the awrah, one can touch it if it is covered.
If someone wants to know about Islam generally, then he should be made aware of the
pillars which constitute it.
Islam is built on the five pillars which have to be acted upon with iman and ihsan.
Denying any one of these pillars and not wishing to fulfill any one of them makes you a
non-Muslim.
Belief in what Allah has destined for us, whether it is perceived to be good, or bad, is
part of iman, and without believing in it, our iman is incomplete and defective.
One may believe in Allah but one has to be always conscious of the Last Day too.
One must accept the Messengers sent by Allah.
As part of the Islamic manner, the questioner can approve of the teacher's answer by
saying that the answer is correct.
One must develop ihsaan in all that he does so that he is as much aware as he can be
that Allah is indeed watching every move that he makes.
As part of the Islamic manner, the teacher should be ready to accept and say that he
does not know the answer or that he does not know it better than the one asking (the
enquirer).
It is permissible to talk about the signs of the Last Hour.
The signs of the Last Hour are real and concern how we live and behave.
If someone comes to a people and goes away from them without the people knowing
who he was, the he can be identified to the people.
Although the Companions were the best of the people and were the most
knowledgeable, they did not interrupt with their own answers, nor did they show
impatience at the questioner. Therefore as part of the Islamic manners, if someone asks
a question to the teacher in a group, then the others in the group should keep quiet
until one of them is asked for help.
It is not permissible to say that there is a certain length of time left before the end of the
world, for none knows but Allah, not even the Messenger .

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Vocabulary

Deity
Astonished

a god.
to fill with sudden and overpowering surprise
or wonder
a woman who has authority, control, or
power, esp. the female head of a household,
institution, or other establishment.
a surviving mark, sign, or evidence of the
former existence, influence, or action of some
agent or event
to come into sight; become visible
nature; quality; character, appearance to the
eye or mind; look.
extending high in the air; of imposing height;
towering
to come into sight; become visible

Mistress

Traces

Appeared
Aspects
Lofty
Appeared

Vocabulary Word Scramble


Unscramble the words below inshaAllah:

1. aedreapp ________________

2. tersac________________

3. dshotisaen________________

4. cetssap________________

5. irsesstm________________

6. etdtueits________________

7. fytol________________

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Comprehension
Check
1. Who is the narrator of this hadith?
a. Zaid ibn Thabit
b. Umar ibn Al-Khattab
c. Ali ibn Abi Talib
d. Musab ibn Umayr

2. The travler who appeared before the Prophet


asked about what things?
a. Islam and Kufr
b. Islam, Iman, the Messengers, The Books and The Day of Judgment
c. Islam, Iman, Ihsan, The Hour, and the Signs of the Hour
d. Islam, Iman, The Messengers, The Day of Judgment and the Signs of the
Day of Judgment.

3. The Prophet
informed the traveler that Islam is:
a. That you should testify that there is no God except Allah and that
Muhammad is His Messenger, you should perform salat, pay the zakat and
fast during Ramadan.
b. That you should testify that there is no God except Allah and that
Muhammad is His Messenger, you should perform salat, pay the zakat, fast
the month of Ramadan, and make the Hajj if you can.
c. That you should testify that there is no God except Allah and that
Muhammad is His Messenger, you should perform salat, pay the zakat and
believe in all of the Messengers that Allah sent and their books.
d. That you should testify that there is no God except Allah and that
Muhammad is His Messenger, you should perform salat, pay the zakat and
believe in the Day of Judgment.

4. The Prophet
informed the traveler that Iman is:
a. That you believe in Allah, His Messenger, The angels and the Day of
Judgment.
b. That you believe in Allah, His Angels and His Books and the Qadr (fate).
c. That you believe in Allah, His angels, His Books, His Messengers, and the
Last Day and in the Qadr (fate), its good and evil aspects.

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d. That you believe in Allah, His angels, His Messengers, and the Last Day
and in the Qadr (fate), its good and evil aspects.
5. The Prophet
informed the traveler that Ihsan is:
a. Knowing that even though you cannot see Allah, He sees you.
b. You should worship Allah even though you cannot see Him, He sees you.
c. You should worship Allah knowing that even though you cannot see Him,
on the Day of Judgment, the believers will see Him inshaAllah.
d. You should worship Allah as if you see Him, even though you cannot see
Him, because even though you cannot see Him, He sees you.

6. The Prophet
informed the traveler about the Hour saying:
a. That the hour will come on a Friday
b. That the one who is questioned (meaning the Prophet himself) does not
have any knowledge about that just like the one asking (meaning the
traveler) does not have any knowledge about that.
c. Only Allah knows
d. The Hour will be a long, hard day.

7. Some of the signs of The Hour coming that the Prophet


told the traveler about
are:
a. The slave-girl will give birth to her mistress; you will see the bare-footed
ones, the naked, the destitute, and the shepherd of the sheep competing
with each other in the building of lofty buildings.
b. The slave-girl will give birth to her king; you will see the bare-footed ones,
the naked, the destitute, and the shepherd of the camels competing with
each other in the building of lofty buildings.
c. You will see the bare-footed ones, the naked, the destitute, and the
shepherd of the sheep competing with each other in the building of lofty
buildings and there will be a lot of wealth in the world.

8. To whom did the Prophet


ask, Do you know who that questioner was?
a. Abu Bakr as-Siddique
b. Uthman ibn Affan
c. Zayd al-Khayr
d. Umar ibn Al-Khattab

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9. Who was the traveler?


a. The Angel of Death
b. Munkar or Nakir
c. The Angel Jibril
d. Harut or Maroot

10. What was unique about the traveler?


a. None of the sahaba knew who he was.
b. He was dressed in very white clothes.
c. He had very dark hair.
d. He didnt have any traces of traveling on him (i.e. he was very clean).
e. Both a and b
f. Both a and e
g. Both c and d
h. All of the above

11. What did the Prophet


say the traveler came to do?
a. Ask questions to learn about Islam
b. Learn about Islam so he could go back and teach his tribe
c. He came to teach you your religion.
d. He came to test the Prophets knowledge of Islam.

12. When the Prophet


asked the sahabi if he knew who the traveler was, what did
the sahabi say in response to the Prophets question?
a. I dont know who he was.
b. Ive never seen him before.
c. Allah and His Messenger know better.
d. Allahu alim.
e. None of the above.

[Type text]

Memorization

Write the text of the hadith from memory below in Arabic or if you
are still learning to write in Arabic, write the text of the hadith English.
After you have written what you remember return to the hadith to
verify that you have written it correctly, leaving nothing out
inshaAllah.

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[Type text]

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[Type text]

Memorization

Fill in the blanks inshaAllah.


Several words are missing from the hadith. Use the word bank to fill in
the blanks inshaAllah.

Word Bank
extremely

visible

thighs

Islam

testify

deity

Messenger

salah

zakah

Hajj

truly

iman

astonished

believe

Books

qadar

Ihsan

questioned

questioner

mistress

raising

Jibril

religion

Also on the authority of 'Umar, radiyallahu 'anhu, who said:


"While we were one day sitting with the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu
'alayhi wasallam, there appeared before us a man dressed in
____________white clothes and with very black hair. No traces of
journeying were __________on him, and none of us knew him.
He sat down close by the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, rested his
knee against his________, and said, O Muhammad! Inform me
about_______." Said the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam,
"________ is that you should _________that there is no _______save Allah
and that Muhammad is His______________, that you should perform

[Type text]

________ pay the________, fast during Ramadan, and perform _______ to


the House (the Ka'bah at Makkah), if you can find a way to it (or find the
means for making the journey to it)." Said he (the man), "You have
spoken_________."
We were ______________at his thus questioning him and telling him that
he was right, but he went on to say, "Inform me about ________." He (the
Messenger of Allah) answered, "It is that you __________in Allah and His
angels and His __________and His Messengers and in the Last Day, and in
_________, both in its good and in its evil aspects." He said, "You have
spoken truly."
Then he (the man) said, "Inform me about________." He (the Messenger of
Allah) answered, " It is that you should serve Allah as though you could see
Him, for though you cannot see Him yet He sees you." He said, "Inform me
about the Hour." He (the Messenger of Allah) said, "About that the one
______________knows no more than the______________." So he said,
"Well, inform me about the signs thereof (i.e. of its coming)." Said he, "They
are that the slave-girl will give birth to her_____________, that you will see
the barefooted ones, the naked, the destitute, the herdsmen of the sheep
(competing with each other) in ___________lofty buildings." Thereupon the
man went off.
I waited a while, and then he (the Messenger of Allah) said, "O 'Umar, do
you know who that questioner was?" I replied, "Allah and His Messenger
know better." He said, "That was___________. He came to teach you
your_____________.""
[Muslim]

[Type text]

Applying what youve


learned

Use the information you learned in the hadith to complete the charts
below inshaAllah. Use another sheet of paper if needed.

What the Prophet said Islam


was
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________

What the Prophet said iman


was
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________

What the Prophet said Ihsan


was
_____________________

What the Prophet said about


the coming of the hour
______________________

What the Prophet said the signs


of the Hour were
_______________________
_______________________

[Type text]

Personal Reflection
Answer the questions below.
1). What was significant about the fact that the narrator of this hadith
said, there appeared before us a man dressed in extremely white
clothes and with very black hair. No traces of journeying were visible
on him, and none of us knew him.?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

2). Why were the sahaba astonished that the questioner questioned the
Prophet Muhammad and then when the Prophet answered him,
the questioner told the Prophet he was right?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

3). Why is it important that a Muslim believe in the good and bad of
the Qadr?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

[Type text]

___________________________________________________________
4). Briefly summarize how the questioner behaved with the Prophet
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

5). What is ihsan? How can you achieve it inshaAllah?


___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

6).What is The Hour? List three authentic signs of The Hour.


___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

7).When will The Hour start?


___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

[Type text]

Activities

Super Word Search Puzzle


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[Type text]

Biography
This hadith was collected by Imam Muslim.
Next to the sahih of al-Bukhari, the hadith
collection of Imam Muslim is the most authentic in the Muslim ummah.
Below is a brief biography of this scholar of hadith.
Imam Muslim (202 - 261H)

Dr. Abdul Hamid Siddiqui


The full name of Imam Muslim is Abu'l-Husain 'Asakir-ud-Din Muslim b. Hajjaj alQushayri al-Naisaburi. "Muslim," as his nasba shows, belonged to the Qushayr tribe
of the Arabs, an offshoot of the great clan of Rabi'a. He was born in Naisabur
(Nishapur) in 202/817 or 206/821. His parents were religiously minded persons and
as such he was brought up in a pious atmosphere. This left such an indelible
impression on his mind that he spent the whole of his life as a God-fearing person
and always adhered to the path of Righteousness. His excellent moral character can
be well judged from the simple fact that he never indulged in backbiting, a very
common human failing.
Imam Muslim travelled widely to collect traditions in Arabia, Egypt, Syria and Iraq,
where he attended the lectures of some of the prominent Traditionists of his time:
Ishaq b. Rahwaih, Ahmad b. Hanbal, 'Ubaydullah al-Qawariri, Qutaiba b. Said,
'Abdullah b. Maslama, Harmalah b. Yahya, and others.
Having finished his studies, be settled down at Nishapur. There he came into contact
with Imam Bukhari, and was so much impressed by his vast knowledge of Hadith and
his deep insight into it that he kept himself attached to him up to the end of his life.
He was an ardent admirer of another great-teacher of Hadith, Muhammad b.Yahya
al-Dhuhali and attended his lectures regularly, but when the difference of opinion
between Muhammad b. Yahya and Imam Bukhari, on the issue of the creation of the
Holy Qur'an, sharpened into hostility, Imam Muslim sided with Imam Bukhari and
abandoned Muhammad b. Yahya altogether. He was thus a true disciple of Imam
Bukhari.

[Type text]

He wrote many books and treatises on Hadith, but the most important of his works is
the collection (Jami) of his Sahih. Some of the commentators of Ahadith are of the
opinion that in certain respects it is the best and most authentic work on the subject.
Imam Muslim took great pains in collecting 300,000 Traditions, and then after a
thorough examination of them retained only 4000, the genuineness of which is fully
established.1
He prefixed to his compilation a very illuminating introduction, in which he specified
some of the principles which he had followed in the choice of his material.
Imam Muslim has to his credit many other valuable contributions to different
branches of Hadith literature, and most of them retain their eminence even to the
present day. Amongst these Kitab al-Musnad al-Kabir 'Ala al-Rijal, Jami' Kabir, Kitab,
al-Asma' wa'l-Kuna, Kitab al-Ilal, Kitab al- Wijdan are very important.
His Methods of Classification and Annotation
Muslim's Sahih comes next to it {Imam Bukharis Sahih collection}. However, in
certain respects the latter is considered superior to the former. Imam Muslim strictly
observed many principles of the science of Hadith which had been slightly ignored by
his great teacher Imam Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on both of them). Imam
Muslim considered only such traditions to be genuine and authentic as had been
transmitted to him by an unbroken chain of reliable authorities and were in perfect
harmony with what had, (been related by other narrators whose trustworthiness
was unanimously accepted and who were free from all defects.
Moreover, Imam Bukhari, while describing the chain of narrators, sometimes
mentions their kunya and sometimes gives their names. This is particularly true in
case of the narrators of Syria. This creates a sort of confusion, which Imam Muslim
has avoided.
Imam Muslim takes particular care in according the exact words of the narrators and
points out even the minutest difference in the wording of their reports.
Imam Muslim has also constantly kept in view the difference between the two wellknown modes of narration, haddathana (he narrated to us) and akhbarana (he
informed us). He is of the opinion that the first mode is used only when the teacher
is narrating the hadith and the student is listening to it, while the second mode of
expression implies that the student is reading the hadith before the teacher. This
reflects his utmost care in the transmission of a hadith.

[Type text]

Imam Muslim has taken great pains in connecting the chain of narrators. He has
recorded only that hadith which, at least, two reliable tabi'in (successors) had heard
from two Companions and this principle is observed throughout the subsequent
chain of narrators.
His Students
Imam Muslim had a very wide circle of students, who learnt Hadith from him. Some
of them occupy a very prominent position in Islamic history, e.g. Abu Hatim Razi,
Musa b. Harun, Ahmad b. Salama, Abu 'Isa Tirmidhi, Abu Bakr b. Khusaima, Abu
Awana and Hafiz Dhahabi.
His Death
Imam Muslim lived for fifty-five years in this world. Of this short span of his life he
spent most of his time in learning Hadith, in Its compilation, in its teaching and
transmission. He always remained absorbed in this single pursuit and nothing could
distract his attention from this pious task. He died in 261/875, and was buried in the
suburbs of Nishapur.

NOTES
1 It is essential to remove one of the serious misgivings under which so many
Orientalists and westernised Muslim scholars are labouring. When they are told that
Imam Muslim selected 4,000 ahadith out of a total collection of 300,000, they think
that since quite a large number of ahadith were unreliable, therefore, these were
rejected, and then jump to the conclusion that the whole stock of hadith is spurious
and should be rejected outright. This betrays utter ignorance of the critics even
about the elementary knowledge of hadith. Matn (text) is not the basis on which is
calculated the number of ahadith. Hadith is counted on the chain of transmission.
Thus when we say that Imam Muslim collected 300,000 ahadith and included only
4,000 in his compilation, it does not imply that he rejected the rest of the whole lot
of the Prophet's sayings being unreliable. What this means is that the words and
deeds of the Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him) were transmitted to Imam
Muslim through so many chains of transmission out of which he selected 4,000
chains as most authentic and narrated the text on their authority. A text (matn)
which is transmitted through one hundred isnads is in Hadith literature treated as
one hundred traditions. For example, the text of the first hadith in Bukhari (The

[Type text]

Actions Are Based on Intention) is counted as a selection of one out of 700 ahadith
since it has been transmitted through such a large number of isnads.
From: http://www.sunnah.org/history/Scholars/Imam_muslim.htm

[Type text]

Hadith 3
The Text:

On the authority of Abu 'Abd al-Rahman 'Abdullah bin 'Umar bin al-Khattab, radiyallahu
'anhuma, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah,

, say:

"Islam has been built upon five things - on testifying that there is no god save Allah, and that
Muhammad is His Messenger; on performing salah; on giving the zakah; on Hajj to the House;
and on fasting during Ramadhan."
[Al-Bukhari & Muslim]

[Type text]

Lessons from
this Hadith

This hadith is part of the previous Hadith (2). Most Scholars say that the reason why al-Imam al-Nawawi
included this hadith in his collection, even though it seems that it repeats some portions of Hadith 2, is
because of the importance of the 5 pillars of Islam.
This Hadith stresses the fundamental aspects of the outward submission to Allah. This submission is
based on some pillars, similar to a structure. If a person fulfills these aspects, he has laid a solid
foundation for his deen as a 'home'.
The other acts of Islam, which are not mentioned in this hadith, can be taken as fine touches to complete
this structure.
If a person fails to fulfill these obligations (building the pillars), then the entire structure of his deen/iman
may be threatened. This depends on how much is being violated - e.g. violation of the shahadah is the
most dangerous.

Lessons
The use of metaphors and similes
This hadith uses a metaphor (i.e. the image of the structure of a building) to affirm certain important
meanings. This use of metaphors and similes can be found in many Surahs in the Quran and in many
other hadiths. For example:

In Surah At-Taubah (9): ayat 109, a similar metaphor is used - the structure of the Mua'min's
deen/iman is based on a sound foundation, whereas the structure of the deen of the Munafiq is
based on weak ground which may lead to the collapse of the structure, resulting in the Munafik
entering the Hellfire.

Surah An-Nur (24): ayat 35, uses the metaphor of light as the light of guidance in the heart of the
Mua'min.

A metaphor used to condemn those who fail to fulfill the amanah (i.e. religious obligations) can be
found in Surah Al-Jumu'ah (62): ayat 5. The Bani Israel, having failed to obey Allah's
commandments in the Taurah, are described as a donkey which is burdened with heavy books
on its back but doesn't understand anything from them. Scholars have said that this metaphor
also applies to other nations, which fail to fulfill their amanah.

In one hadith the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, divided the status of his ummah into three
categories: those who benefit from the Message, those who benefit partially and those who fail to
benefit at all. He, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, used the metaphor of rain (as the Message) falling
down on different types of land, producing different results.

[Type text]

Using metaphors to convey the Message is a very important 'tool' and it is the methodology used in the
Quran and by the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam. There are many modes of expression used in the
Quran and Hadith and they are used for different purposes. E.g. Dealing with the misconceptions and
false assumptions of the disbelievers, the Quran and Hadith use rational thinking. When describing
Jannah and the Hellfire, the style used by the Quran and Hadith is the visual mode of expression - they
are described in such detail that it is like we can actually visualize Jannah or the Hellfire in front of us.
One of the Sahabahs said that he had already seen Jannah and the Hellfire. The other Sahabahs were
puzzled and asked him how this could be so as nobody is able to see them until the Hereafter. He replied,
"I saw them through the eyes of the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam. If I were to be given the chance
to see Jannah and the Hellfire with my own eyes, I would not trust my sight. I trust the eyes of the
Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, more than I trust my own eyes." Here we can conclude that if we
read and understand the Quran and the Hadiths we too can visualize the paradise and the Hellfire.

These modes of expression (thinking styles) used by the Quran and Hadith should be well understood
and used by Muslims today to convey the Message of Islam when doing da'wah as it is the most effective
way. Different styles should be used to reach/convince different people - some people are more
emotional, some are more rational, etc.

First Pillar : The Shahadah


The first part of the Shahadah is testifying that there is none worthy of worship except Allah.
There are seven conditions of the Shahadah:

Knowledge - to understand what it means


Certainty - to have no doubt about anything confirmed in the Quran or Sunnah
Acceptance - by the tongue and the heart of whatever the Shahadah implies
Submission/compliance - the actual physical enactment by deeds
Truthfulness - to say the Shahadah sincerely, with honesty, to actually mean it
Sincerity - to do it solely for the sake of Allah
Love - to love the Shahadah and to love its implications and requirements and what it stands for

The Shahadah is not simply saying it with our tongue. We need to adhere to these conditions. If we say
the Shahadah sincerely and with honesty, we will not do anything which contradicts with or violates the
Shahadah.

The second part of the Shahadah carries the following conditions:

To believe in the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, and in whatever he told us and conveyed
to us
To obey him in whatever he commanded us to do
To stay away from or avoid whatever he commanded us not to do
To follow or emulate him in our ibadah, akhlaq and way of life
To love him more than we love ourselves, our family and anything else in this world
To understand, practice and promote his Sunnah in the best way possible, without creating any
chaos, enmity or harm

[Type text]

Second Pillar : Establishing the Prayers (Salah)


Some interpretations of this hadith translate "iqamatus salah" as 'performing' the salah. "Iqamatus salah"
is a broader concept than what the term 'performing' means. The Scholars say "iqamatus salah" implies:

Doing the wudu in the proper way


To do the salah in its time
To do it in congregation (jama'ah) - where the reward is 27 times than praying alone
To fulfill the [nine]conditions of salah
To observe the proper manners (adab) of doing it such as submission and humility
To follow preferable actions (sunnan) in our salah

It is important that we follow these conditions and not violate them if we want to truly fulfill the second
pillar of Islam i.e. "iqamatus salah". We should remember that Allah initially commanded us to pray fifty
times a day and it was eventually reduced to five times (with the reward of fifty) - the prayer times are very
reasonably spread out throughout the day - it can even help us to manage our time - it can help us to
manage our affairs, allowing the Muslim community to meet during congregation and care for and help
each other which will lead in turn to solidarity. Thus, the prayers should not be seen as a burden as some
Muslims might regard them today.

Third Pillar : Zakat


The giving of Zakat has been pointed out by the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, for certain things
and in certain ways or percentages and under certain conditions. The Scholars say that knowing the
details of Zakat only becomes an obligation when a person owns the type of property or thing which
requires him to give Zakat for. E.g. Farmers or traders or property owners need to know the conditions
and percentages of Zakat that they are obligated to give.

Fourth Pillar : Hajj


Pilgrimage (Hajj) to the House (Kaabah) is an obligation that we need to do only once in our lifetime - only
if we meet certain conditions, e.g. if we have the financial means, a way of travelling peacefully, etc. If we
meet these conditions then we should perform the Hajj as soon as possible and not to delay it.

Some Scholars say that if we have the means to perform the Hajj several times, then it is better to use
this money to help others to fulfill their obligations - we will be rewarded for their pilgrimage or to use the
money for the betterment of the community.

For each of these Pillars there are conditions, sunnan, ethics (adab), etc., which should be observed
when we perform these ibadahs. Why do we always hear that every year hundreds of Muslims lose their
lives or get injured during Hajj? Most of these incidents are due to the negligence of the adab or violation
of the sunnan. For example, the throwing of stones at the Jamrat:

Even though we are supposed to use small stones, people tend to use big ones and throw
recklessly from a far distance, causing injuries to others.
People do not follow the specified directions when they move, causing many to get crushed by
the 'human waves' moving in different directions.

[Type text]

People insist on going to throw at the peak times, i.e. the busiest part of the day. The elderly,
women and handicapped should be reminded to go when it is less crowded.

Thus, it is important that we observe the adab.

Fifth Pillar : Fasting


Ramadhan is a training program for all Muslims to go through, performing good deeds to become better
Muslims. However, we should continue with these good deeds outside of Ramadhan - praying in the
mosque, Tahajjud, Qiamu alil, reciting the Qur'an, helping and caring for others etc.

The Prophet,
, when asked what the best way is to finish reading the whole Qur'an, said to do it in one
month, i.e. one Juz per day. This is something we should practice all the time and not have to wait for
Ramadhan to do it. If we cannot achieve this, at least try to read one or two pages a day (a quarter of a
hizb).
Similarly we should try to do the night prayers (tahajjud), be it only two raka'at and not everyday, outside
of Ramadhan.
We should not make personal commitments in performing these preferable actions where the Shariah
has not made this itself. This might lead us to giving up on our commitment and hence, the good deed.
The best way is to do it on ease and convenience aiming at the continuity of these good deeds.

Conclusion
All the Pillars of Islam have rulings, conditions and mannerisms (ahkam wa adab) applied to them. It is
important that we know these ahkam and adab and regularly remind ourselves, especially before
Ramadan or before performing the Hajj, so that we perform the Pillars properly and according to the
Shariah.

[Type text]

Vocabulary

Ramadan

The ninth month of the Islamic calendar in


which all Muslims, who are eligible and able to
fast, must not eat or drink from dawn until
sunset.
to go through or execute in the proper,
customary, or established manner; to carry
out; execute; do
to bear witness; give or afford evidence; to
bear witness to; affirm as fact or truth; attest.
A prophet of Allah; A bearer of news.

Performing

Testifying
Messenger

Word Scramble
Unscramble the words below inshaAllah:

1. gfetinstiy________________

2. meengsres________________

3. neopfirgmr________________

4. aadramn________________

[Type text]

Comprehension
Check

1. Who is the narrator of this hadith?


a. Umar ibn Al-Khattab
b. Abu 'Abd al-Rahman 'Abdullah bin 'Umar bin al-Khattab
c. Zayd ibn Thabbit
d. Abdullah ibn Masud

2. Did the narrator of this hadith hear the Prophet


did someone tell him that the Prophet

say the words of this hadith or

said these words?

a. He was told that the Prophet


said the words in the hadith
b. He heard the words directly from the Prophet
himself.

3. The Prophet
said that Islam has been built on _____ things. They are:
a. 4 things and they are: Performing Salat, Fasting, Hajj and Umrah
b. 6 things and they are: Shahada, Performing Salat, Fasting, Zakat, Hajj and
Jihad
c. 3 things and they are: Beliving in Allah, His Messengers and His Angels
d. 5 things and they are: The Shahada, Performing Salat, Zakat, Hajj and
Fasting

4. This hadith was narrated in which books of hadith?


a. Bukhari and Musnad Ahmad
b. Bukhari and Muslim
c. Bukhari and Tirmidi
d. Bukhari and Abu Dawud

[Type text]

Memorization

Write the text of the hadith from memory below in Arabic or if you
are still learning to write in Arabic, write the text of the hadith English.
After you have written what you remember return to the hadith to
verify that you have written it correctly, leaving nothing out
inshaAllah.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Type text]

Memorization

Fill in the blanks inshaAllah.


Several words are missing from the hadith. Use the word bank to fill in
the blanks inshaAllah.

Word Bank
authority
Messenger

Abdullah

testifying

giving

House

On the ____________of Abu 'Abd al-Rahman '__________ bin 'Umar


bin al-Khattab, radiyallahu 'anhuma, who said: I heard the Messenger
of Allah, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, say:
"Islam has been built upon five things - on _____________that there is
no god save Allah, and that Muhammad is His_____________; on
performing salah; on _________the zakah; on Hajj to the__________;
and on fasting during Ramadhan."
[Al-Bukhari & Muslim]

[Type text]

Applying what youve


learned
The conditions of the shahadah are 7:

Knowledge - to understand what it means


Certainty - to have no doubt about anything confirmed in the Quran or Sunnah
Acceptance - by the tongue and the heart of whatever the Shahadah implies
Submission/compliance - the actual physical enactment by deeds
Truthfulness - to say the Shahadah sincerely, with honesty, to actually mean it
Sincerity - to do it solely for the sake of Allah
Love - to love the Shahadah and to love its implications and requirements and what it stands for

Using the chart below, rate how well you believe you understand and apply these seven
conditions in your life. Repeat this process with the other charts inshaAllah. If you find that you
dont understand and/or you dont apply these conditions as much as youd like, list some ways
you can change that inshaAllah. Use another sheet of paper if you need to. Be honest with
yourself and remember that Allah knows what is in your inner self. Your goal with this activity is
to become a better Muslim inshaAllah.
Excellent
Alhamdulillah

Knowledge

Certainty

Acceptance

Submission

Truthfulness

Sincerity

Love

Very good
Alhamdulillah

Satisfactory

Unsatisfactory

I dont
understand
this
condition

I dont
apply this
condition

Ways I can
improve my
understanding
and/or
application of
this condition

[Type text]

The second part of the Shahadah also has conditions:

To believe in the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, and in whatever he told us and conveyed
to us
To obey him in whatever he commanded us to do
To stay away from or avoid whatever he commanded us not to do
To follow or emulate him in our ibadah, akhlaq and way of life
To love him more than we love ourselves, our family and anything else in this world
To understand, practice and promote his Sunnah in the best way possible, without creating any
chaos, enmity or harm
Excellent
Alhamdulillah

To believe in
the Prophet,
and in
whatever he
told us and
conveyed to
us.
To obey him
in whatever
he
commanded
us to do.
To stay away
from or avoid
whatever he
commanded
us not to do
To follow or
emulate him
in our ibadah,
akhlaq and
way of life
To love him
more than we
love
ourselves, our
family and
anything else
in this world
To
understand,
practice and
promote his
Sunnah in the
best way
possible,
without
creating any
chaos, enmity
or harm

Very good
Alhamdulillah

Satisfactory

Unsatisfactory

I dont
understand
this
condition

I dont
apply this
condition

Ways I can
improve my
understanding
and/or
application of
this condition

[Type text]

The Scholars say "iqamatus salah" implies:

Doing the wudu in the proper way


To do the salah in its time
To do it in congregation (jama'ah) - where the reward is 27 times than praying alone (for men &
boys)
To fulfill the six conditions of salah
To observe the proper manners (adab) of doing it such as submission and humility
To follow preferable actions (sunnan) in our salah
I pray all 5
prayers daily
on time and
meet all of
the
conditions
above
inshaAllah

Doing the
wudu in the
proper way
To do the
salah in its
time
To do it in
congregation
(jama'ah) where the
reward is 27
times than
praying
alone (for
men & boys)
To fulfill the
six
conditions of
salah
To observe
the proper
manners
(adab) of
doing it such
as
submission
and humility
To follow
preferable
actions
(sunnan) in
our salah

I pray all 5
prayers daily
on time but
do not
always meet
the
conditions
above

I pray 3 or 4
of the
prayers daily
and I meet
the
conditions
above

I pray 3 or 4
of the prayers
daily but I do
not always
meet the
conditions
above

I pray 2 or
less of the
prayers
each day
but I do not
always meet
the
conditions
above

I do not
pray or I
only pray
when I am
told or
when I go
to the
masjid

Ways I can
improve my
understanding
and/or
application of
this condition

[Type text]

List the nine pillars of the salat. InshaAllah, your parent(s) and/or
teacher will teach them to you. As you learn them, complete the
chart below inshaAllah.

The Condition

What this means

[Type text]

What is the Zakat and How to Calculate It


Read the following information about zakat and answer the questions that follow
inshaAllah.
Zakat is the amount of money that every adult Muslim male and female, who is sane, free (i.e. they are
not a slave), and who is financially able, must pay to certain people. Allah tells us in surah at-Tawbah
who the people are who must be given the zakat. The word zakat comes from the verb Zaka, which
means: It (a plant) grew. The second derivative of this word carries the sense of purification, e.g., Qad
aflaha man zakkaha (he is indeed successful who purifies himself). Spending the wealth for the sake of
Allah purifies the heart of man of the love of material wealth. The man who spends offers that as a
humble gift before the Lord and thus affirms the truth that nothing is dearer to him in life than the love
of Allah and that he is fully prepared to sacrifice everything for His sake. There is no burden of obligation
on one who receives Zakat, but a sense of thankfulness and gratitude on the part of the giver, since has
been enabled by the recipient to discharge his obligation that he owes to Allah and society. Zakat is paid
on surplus of wealth that is left over after the passage of a year. It is thus a payment on the accumulated
wealth. Leaving aside animals and agricultural yield, Zakat is paid at almost a uniform rate of 2 %.
The minimum standard of surplus wealth over which Zakat is charged is known as Nisab. It differs with
different kinds of property, the most important being nearly 21 OZ in case of silver and 3 OZ in case of
gold. The Nisab of cash is the same as that of gold and silver. Twenty percent of buried treasure, i.e.
wealth that does not imply exertion of effort in collecting it; as for agricultural crops that require labour
to gain, Zakat would be 10% and it is known as `Ushur (tenth). If the land is irrigated by artificial
methods, one-twentieth part of the yield is to be paid as Zakat. Should the land producing the yield be in
need of constant labour and catering, then the owner is bound to pay one-fortieth of the produce. There
is no Zakat on less than five camels, but if the person pays it out of his own sweet will that would be a
voluntary act of charity. Upon five camels the Zakat is one goat, provided they subsist upon pasture
throughout the year, because Zakat is due only upon such camels as live on pasture and not upon those
which are fed in the house with fodder. One goat is due upon any number of camels from five to nine,
and two goats on any number from ten to fourteen. There on any number from fourteen to nineteen
and four upon any number from twenty to twenty-four and upon any number of camels from twentyfive to thirty-five, the Zakat is a Bint-al-Makhaz, that is, a camels yearling colt.
No Zakat is due upon fewer than forty goats and upon forty goats that feed for the greater part of the
year upon pasture, there is due, at the expiration of the year, Zakat of one goat. One goat is due on
thirty cows. As for horses, no Zakat is due on them in the light of the Holy Prophets guidance.

Information based on an article by: Imam Ibn ul Qayyim al Jawziyyah


Mukhtasar Zaad al Ma`aad of Ibn ul Qayyim
1993 Nour-e-Sham Book Centre

[Type text]

Zayd and the Zakat


Zayds homework is asking him to calculate the zakat in different situations. The problems he has to
solve are below. See if you can correctly calculate the zakat for the scenarios given inshaAllah. Show
your work inshaAllah.

Solve.

1). Abu Abdullah has 16 camels and 12 goats that live on his farm all year
round. The camels eat the food found naturally in nature. How much zakat
would he pay on his camels?
____________________________________________________________

2). Brother Hamza has a farm with 65 cows, 15 goats and 7 horses. How
much zakat would he pay at the time the zakat is due.
___________________________________________________________

3). Brother Ahmad owns a farm on which he grows produce to sell to


markets. His farm is not irrigated by artificial means and he must work on his
farm in order for his crops to produce enough for him to sell inshaAllah. His
farm does not require constant labour because he grows seasonal produce.

[Type text]

This year his crops produced 100 pounds of grapes, 300 pounds of
strawberries, 460 pounds of cherries and 980 pounds of watermelons. How
much zakat is Brother Ahmad obligated to pay?
______________________________________________________________

4). Brother Sufyan owns a horse farm. On his farm he has 25 horses. All of
his horses live year-round on his farm. How much zakat is Brother Sufyan
obligated to pay?
____________________________________________________________

5). Brother Yusuf owns a large cooperation. He does not have to put forth
any effort to collect his wealth because his clients pay their bills through
their banks or send their payments to his company. This year, Brother
Yusufs company had a profit of 14.7 million dollars mashaAllah. How much
zakat is Brother Yusuf obligated to pay?
______________________________________________________________

6). Brother Amir lost his job two years ago and his not found a job as of
today. He has neither wealth nor income. How much zakat is Brother Amir
obligated to pay? _________________________

[Type text]

Hajj

Hajj is an obligation that we only need to do once in our lifetime if we meet certain conditions.
Some of the conditions for being required to complete the Hajj are: we have the financial
means (i.e. we have enough money for the journey), we have a way of travelling peacefully, etc.
If a Muslims meets these conditions then he/she should perform the Hajj as soon as possible
and not delay it.
Use the following e-books to learn about the correct way to perform Hajj inshaAllah:
http://d1.islamhouse.com/data/en/ih_books/signal/en_HajjandUmrahfromAtoZ.pdf
http://d1.islamhouse.com/data/en/ih_books/signal/en_How_to_Perform_the_Rituals_of_Hajj.
pdf

Plan your Hajj inshaAllah.

Research everything you will need to go to Haj j inshaAllah, including the


cost of each item/aspect. Use the chart below to record what you will need
and how much each item will cost inshaAllah (some items have been listed
to get you started inshaAllah). Make dua sincerely and prepare yourself to
be a guest of Allah

at His House

inshaAllah.

My Hajj Plan
Company
Name
Correct Niyyah
(Intention)
Medical Exam

Immunizations

Address

Phone
Number

Fee For
Service

Quantity of
Item needed

Notes

[Type text]

Company
Name

Address

Phone
Number

Fee For
Service

Quantity of
Item needed

Notes

[Type text]

Ramadan

Iftar Photo Creative Commons 2007 Raasiel

Write an essay, poem or short story that tells what Ramadan means to you
inshaAllah (i.e. how do you change in Ramadan, how do you feel doing
Ramadan, etc.).
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

[Type text]

Personal Reflection
Answer the questions below.
1). The Shahadah consists of two parts. List the two parts and discuss
why they cannot be separated (i.e. the two parts make up one pillar).
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

2). A Muslims Islam is not complete without the salat. Unfortunately,


many of us struggle to pray on time, not miss a salat, and some of us
do not pray at all. If you struggle with your prayers, discuss the things
that cause you to neglect the salat. If you do not struggle with your
prayers, thank Allah and discuss what you think a person who is
struggling to pray all of his/her prayers on time each day could do to
improve inshaAllah. You are not judging this person, you are giving
sincere advice with love and concern for your brother or sister in Islam.
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

[Type text]

___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

3). The pillars of Islam were mentioned in Hadith # 2. Imam AnNawawi


included this hadith which also lists the five pillars of Islam
due to their importance. One of the lessons were learn from hadith # 2
is that it distinguishes between Islam and Iman. Sheikh Uthameen
said when they are mentioned together, Islam means the actions of the
limbs and Iman means the actions of the heart. List some of the actions
of the limbs that the five pillars of Islam cause the Muslim to do by the
Permission of Allah. Discuss how these actions benefit the Muslim.
*Remember the name of Sheikh Uthameen
again soon inshaAllah.*

. You will see his name

___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

[Type text]

4). In surah At-Tawbah, Allah tells us who are those to whom the zakat
should be given. Allah tells us this in ayah # 60. Write the ayah in
Arabic below and try to memorize it inshaAllah.
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

5). Abu Bakr

fought some tribes who had said they were Muslim

during the life of the Prophet


. Abu Bakr
was correct in his
decision to do so because these tribes refused to pay the zakat after the
Prophet
died. Based on what you learned in from this hadith (i.e.
the lessons), why was it absolutely necessary and correct that Abu Bakr
fought those tribes?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

[Type text]

Activities

Word Search Puzzle


V
G
E
A
E
T
C
V
Q
Z
L
H
P
Q

V
J
S
Y
V
R
M
Z
N
Y
F
Y
C
G

R
A
J
H
X
U
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Z
A
K
A
T
E
H

R
C
L
A
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C
V
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acceptance
certainty
fasting
Hajj
knowledge
love
Ramadan

Z
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L
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B

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P
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G
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S
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T
K
G
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S
V
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N
V
Q
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I
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S

salat
shahada
sincerity
submission
truthfulness
zakat

R
A
M
A
D
A
N
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P
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[Type text]

Biography
Shaykh Muhammad Ibn Saalih Ibn 'Uthaymeen
*Please appropriately reference this biography to: www.fatwa-online.com,
thankyou!*
Abu 'Abdullaah Muhammad ibn Saalih ibn Muhammad ibn 'Uthaymeen atTameemee an-Najdee was born in the city of Unayzah, Qaseem Region on 27th
Ramadhaan 1347 A.H./1926 C.E. in a famous religious family.
He received his education from many prominent scholars like Shaykh 'AbdurRahmaan as-Sa'dee, Shaykh Muhammad Ameen ash-Shanqeetee and Shaykh 'Abdul'Azeez ibn Baaz.
When he entered into teaching, a great number of students from inside and outside
Saudi Arabia benefited from him. He had his own unique style of interpretation and
explanation of religious points. He was from among those scholars who served
Islaam without any type of religious prejudice and kept themselves away from the
limitations of blind-following. He was distinguished in his great exertion of effort in
religious matters and analogical deductions which clearly prove the religious
understanding he possessed, and the correct usage of the principles of religion, he
adopted.
In giving religious verdicts, like Shaykh ibn Baaz, his Fataawa were based on evidence
from the Qur.aan and Sunnah. He had about fifty compilations to his credit. He
taught Religious Fundamentals at the Sharee'ah Faculty of Imaam Muhammad ibn
Sa'ood Islaamic University, Qaseem Branch. He was also a member of the Council of
Senior Scholars of the Kingdom, and the Imaam and Khateeb of the big Mosque of
Unayzah city.
The Shaykh passed away on Wednesday 15 Shawwaal 1421 A.H. / 10 January 2001
C.E. He was 74 years of age. May Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta'aala) have Mercy upon
his soul, aameen.

Source: http://www.fatwa-online.com/

[Type text]

Word Search Puzzle Solution


For Teacher/Parent Use
V
G
E
A
E
T
C
V
Q
Z
L
H
P
Q

V
J
S
Y
V
R
M
Z
N
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F
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C
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R
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Z
A
K
A
T
E
H

R
C
L
A
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T
H
C
V
D
I
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N

acceptance
certainty
fasting
Hajj
knowledge
love
Ramadan

Z
C
F
O
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H
B
C
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C
K
R
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salat
shahada
sincerity
submission
truthfulness
zakat

R
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[Type text]

Answer Sheet for the Nine Conditions of Salat


For Teacher/Parent Use

The Condition

What this means


Salat is only accepted from a Muslim.

Al-Islaam
Al-aql (Sanity)

Al-tamyeez (puberty)
State of purity

Removal of filth
Covering the awrah

Commencement of time
Facing the direction of the qiblah
An-niyah

The insane is not held accountable for


his/her actions therefore the person
praying must be sane.
The person must have reached puberty.
The person praying must have wudu or
have taken a ghusl to remove ritual
impurity.
The praying persons clothing should be
free from impurities.
The awrah of a male who has reached the
age of ten and above is from his navel to
his knees. The awrah of a male between
the ages of seven and ten is the two
private parts only, front and back. The
awrah of a woman is all of her body except
the face and hands. Some scholars say the
feet of a woman should also be covered
during the salat and waAllahu alim.
The salat must be prayed in its proper time
and not a minute before.
The praying person must be facing the
Kaba.
The intention for the prayer being prayed
should be present but should not be
spoken out loud as this is a biddah
(innovation) and is not from the sunnah of
the Prophet
.

[Type text]

Hadith 4
The Text:

[Type text]

Abu 'Abd al-Rahman 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud,


truthful, the most trusted, told us:

, reported: The Messenger of Allah,

, the most

"Verily the creation of any one of you takes place when he is assembled in his mother's womb;
for forty days he is as a drop of fluid, then it becomes a clot for a similar period. Thereafter, it is
a lump looking like it has been chewed for a similar period. Then an angel is sent to him, who
breathes the ruh (spirit) into him. This Angel is commanded to write Four decrees: that he writes
down his provision (rizq), his life span, his deeds, and whether he will be among the wretched or
the blessed.
I swear by Allah - there is no God but He - one of you may perform the deeds of the people of
Paradise till there is naught but an arm's length between him and it, when that which has been
written will outstrip him so that he performs the deeds of the people of the Hell Fire; one of you
may perform the deeds of the people of the Hell Fire, till there is naught but an arm's length
between him and it, when that which has been written will overtake him so that he performs the
deeds of the people of Paradise and enters therein."
[Al-Bukhari & Muslim]

[Type text]

Lessons from
this Hadith

Some people, on hearing this hadith as it is and without further explanation, might feel despair, fearing
that they fall into the bad group of people mentioned. This will lead to determination (jabriah) - they
may think that no matter what they do, if their end has already been written, then why should they
bother to do good deeds. This is the wrong attitude to have as it is based on a wrong perception. Allah is
Just. We should trust Allah. If we are good to Allah and trust Him, He will be good to us. We should be
optimistic and not pessimistic. We follow Allah's commands and make the effort to be good Muslims
and we should not despair.

During one of the battles, a companion (Sahabi) said to the Prophet,


, that he was following him, ,
to fight in the hope that an arrow will be shot through his (the Sahabi's) neck, coming in from the front
and going out the back. The Prophet,
, said, "If you are honest with Allah, Allah will be honest with
you." The Sahabi died exactly as he hoped to.

The Prophet's
, words here are generic and can be used for all situations. If we are honest with Allah,
Allah will not leave us - He will help us - He will guide us, etc. The closer we are to Allah, the more He will
help us and guide us. Thus, the last section of this hadith is an exception and applies only to a few
people such as the Munafiqin.

But this, on the other hand, does not mean that we live in hope alone. The Scholars say that we must
combine hope with fear - when we worship Allah, we should have hope as well as fear of Him. Fearing
Allah is a positive thing. The more we fear Allah, the closer we get to Him. The more we fear Allah, the
more calm and at peace we will be. This is unlike the natural 'fear' where if we fear something, e.g. a fire
or a dangerous animal, we will try to get away from it.
Scholars say that we should have an equal amount of hope to the amount of fear. This is so we will have
a better status of Iman (faith) - there is no despair and at the same time there is no excessive hope
(over-confidence) which could lead to laziness and the non-fulfillment of our obligations. This is why we
need to combine hope and fear, as well as love Allah the most and have trust in Him.

This above hadith is about Allah's Creation and Qadar. The statement: "that which has been written will
overtake him" should be understood in the positive sense and not negatively. Allah with His ultimate
knowledge knows what will happen as it has been explained in the previous hadith.

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Al-Qadar can be categorized as:


1. Al-Qadar al-Kulli - the general qadar which has been recorded by Allah in Al-Lauhulmahfudz or
the Preserved Tablet.
2. Al-Qadar al-Sanawi - the annual qadar which takes place once a year (Lailatul qadar) - where it
matchs what has been written in Al-Lauhulmahfudz.
What has been written in Al-Lauhulmahfudz is only known to Allah. It is not revealed to us - we don't
know about our destiny, what our rizq is, where we'll end up, etc. To us it is ghaib and unknown. The
translation of this hadith using the word "overtake" may not give the true meaning if it were to be
understood that whatever has been recorded by the angels will be "imposed" on a person's life. We are
simply being told about Ilmu Allah or the ultimate knowledge of Allah. What has been written does not
cause us to do what we do. It is not a cause and affect situation, as believed by many Muslims. Many
Muslims believe that as it has already been written, therefore this will cause us to do whatever has been
written. The truth is even though it has been written and even though we will do it, we will not do it
because it has been written. It is actually an association, or a matching. What we are going to do
matches the knowledge of Allah, because Allah's knowledge is ultimate. In other words, what we are
going to do matches what has been written. This shows the glory of Allah, the ultimate knowledge of
Allah. So we should not have the understanding that things are imposed on us. Otherwise this will nullify
the whole concept of iman (faith) and the whole concept of Creation and all other related concepts.

We are responsible for what we choose and for what we do. Referring to the last section of this hadith
where a person's final destiny changes at the last minute and he ends up not as expected, there are
examples in the Sirahs where some people embrace Islam in the last minute - e.g. they embrace Islam
and go into battle and die, some of them not having done a single good deed. There are also many
examples today where non-practicing Muslims or those doing bad deeds, having reached the last stages
of their lives (at the age of 50 or 60), will repent and turn into a good Muslim. The same applies for
thousands of new converts every year.These people, according to the will of Allah, will be forgiven and
enter Paradise.
For the other scenario where a person performs good deeds most of his/her life and at the end of
his/her life perform bad deeds deserving to enter the Hellfire (as mentioned in the hadith), this situation
affects only a limited number of people compared to the first one. And it is because of the person
himself, such as in the case of hypocrites.

Authors Note: Sheikh Uthameen

said regarding the last part of the hadith, one of you may
perform the deeds of the people of Paradise till there is naught but an arm's length between him
and it, when that which has been written will outstrip him so that he performs the deeds of the
people of the Hell Fire; one of you may perform the deeds of the people of the Hell Fire, till there is
naught but an arm's length between him and it, when that which has been written will overtake
him so that he performs the deeds of the people of Paradise and enters therein that if someone
says, What is the wisdom behind Allah forsaking (leaving) the one who does the actions of the people
of Paradise until there is an arms length between him and it, and that which has been written overtakes
him and so he behaves like the people of the Hellfire? The answer: The wisdom behind that is the one
who does the actions of the people of Paradise is only doing the actions of the people of Paradise in that

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which are displayed to the people; but in reality, his innermost thoughts are filthy and he has a corrupt
intention. So his correct intention overtakes him until he has a misfortunate end, and we seek Allahs
refuge from that. Due to this, the intent by his statement, until there is but an arms length between
him and it is nearness to the end of his lifespan and not his nearness to Paradise by his actions.

To have the correct understanding of the concept of qadar, we need to know more about the creation
of the human being. What is mentioned in this Hadith is actually a miracle. It describes the stages of the
fetus and the creation of man 1,400 years before science and technology confirm it as fact. (This
description of the stages of the fetus can also be found in the Quran but without the mention of the
periods of times.) In other words, scientists were only able to observe this phenomenon in the last few
decades whereas it was already mentioned in the Qur'an and Hadith hundreds of years ago.
A conference regarding the Creation was held in Europe several years ago and some Muslim Scholars
were invited to attend. When these Scholars gave the Islamic perspective regarding the stages of the
fetus, showing that this was documented in the Quran and the Hadith, some of the people who
attended the conference embraced Islam - they were convinced that it is a Divine revelation.

We also need to understand the components of the human being in order to help us understand qadar
in the positive way. The human being consists of the following components:

The intellect (Al-Aql) - this allows us, to a certain extent, to distinguish between good and evil.
The intellect is part of us, part of the creation of Allah. Based on this, a person is regarded as
mukallaf, responsible to understand and accept the massage of Allah if he is sane. If someone is
mentally disturbed or insane, then he is not mukallaf.
The natural disposition or innate (Al-Fitrah) - we are created with this innate which enables us to
love what is good and what is right and to hate what is evil and what is wrong. It consists of love
and hate. Even though we are created with this fitrah, it is subject to change due to the
environment, to our parents, upbringing, etc. Therefore there are people who might love what
is bad due to a spoiled or a corrupted fitrah. The Scholars say the original fitrah is still there
within these people - if we try to 'awaken' the fitrah, these people will come back to loving good
and hating bad.
The commitment that we make, at the time of our pre-creation, to worship only Allah. This is
related to the fitrah - it causes us to have this natural disposition or innate towards loving what
is good and hating what is bad.
The willingness (Al-Iradah) and Power (Qudrah): Allah provided us with willingness and
power/ability. An action cannot take place without this willingness and power - we do
something only if we are willing and we have the power to do it. But this willingness and power
are neutral and can be manipulated and used in either good or bad ways.
We have also been created with desires (shahawat) and the existence of these desires within us
can manipulate our willingness or power towards good or bad.

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Desires are part of what is known as the internal challenges - things which influence our
willingness and ability. The internal challenges consist of:
o
o

Shahawat/Hawa (self desires)


Nafs, of which there are three different aspects:
i.
The nafs which encourages us to do bad deeds
ii.
The nafs which blames us for our bad deeds or thoughts of bad deeds (if we
have iman and knowledge) - e.g. our nafs says "Aren't you ashamed of yourself
for thinking about drinking alcohol?"
iii.
The peaceful nafs (al-Mutma'inah)

We can be dealing with these three different aspects of the nafs in a short period of
time, e.g. within less than an hour, where (i) we start in thinking about doing a bad
deed, caused by al-nafsu ammarah bi sua' which is the first aspect of nafs, but due to
our faith (ii) the blaming self prevents us from performing that bad deed, leading us to
(iii) the aspect of the peaceful self.
There are also external challenges (which attract the internal challenges):
o

The existing muharamat (prohibitions) - e.g. the first aspect of nafs will activate the
hawa and the hawa will push us to think about and do the bad deeds.
The insinuation/whispering (waswasa) of Shaytaan. All that Shaytaan can do is to
insinuate. He will try to convince us to do bad deeds by promoting evil and making it
appear nice and acceptable to us, or convince us to delay doing good deeds. E.g. if we
are good Muslims Shaytaan will try to make us delay performing the prayer or giving the
sadaqah by making it appear as a bad thing to do because giving sadaqah will result in a
financial burden for us. As we can see, both cases are done through coloring our
perception.

We can see that some of the components of the human being help us while some are challenges. For
example, the Fitrah and Aql are strong components which direct us to do good. However there is a limit
to our intellect and for this Allah sent us the Messengers with the revelations to guide us. Allah's
Guidance helps us by telling us what is good and what is bad, in what forms the insinuation of Shaytaan
can come in, etc. When we recite the Qur'an with contemplation, we will attain the insight (basirah)
which will activate the blaming-self and the nafs ul mutma' inah.

The Qur'an tells us that we have been created to be tested: (Allah) Who has created death and life that
He may test you which of you is best in deed. [Surah Al-Mulk (67): ayat 2]
Allah tells us what we are being tested on and the scenarios mentioned above describe the nature of the
test. This is the mercy of Allah - He equips us with the power, the will, the fitrah, the aql, the
Message/guidance, etc. But He warns us that our will is going to be tested by internal and external

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challenges. The power and willingness is neutral but it can be influenced/directed to go either way, good
or bad. If we have the insight (basirah), if we recite the Quran, if we are close to Allah, if we have the
wisdom (hikmah), then what will be activated is the sound mind and the shahawat (selfdesires) will be
controlled and we will not be misled by them. Shaytaan will not come close to us because he knows that
if he does so he will not be able to influence us. If we look at it this way, our life is a challenge - it's a real
test that we have to go through.

Even with all these components Allah has equipped us with, we still need Tawfiqul Allah (guidance from
Allah). Without tawfiq we might be misled by our desires or by the insinuation of Shaytaan. Thus we
need to be closer to Allah. We need to do du'a to Allah (calling on Him) all the time and to devote our
hearts to Him so that we are constantly seeking His help, His refuge, His Hidayah (guidance). That's why
at least 17 times a day we say "Guide us to the Straight Way" - we need Allah's guidance again and
again. The guidance is not only to the path but it is also within the path. These are the two types of
guidance (hidayah) - (i) to the path is becoming a Muslim and (ii) within the path is increasing our
[missing word]. The Scholars say we need guidance within the path every second of the day - we need
Allah's guidance more than we need to breathe.

It is narrated by the Prophet, , in one Hadith that Allah created a man on an island where he was the
only person there. Allah gave the man rizq by providing fruits on which he survived. For 70 years the
man lived and worshipped only Allah, as there were no challenges there. When the time came for the
man to die, Allah commanded the angel to bring his soul to Him. Allah asked the man, "O My servant, to
Paradise or to Hellfire?" The man replied, "O Allah, Almighty, to Paradise." Allah said, "O My servant, is it
because of My Mercy or is it because of your amal (good deeds)?" The man replied, "O Allah, it is
because of my amal. For 70 years I worshipped you. I have done nothing bad, only good deeds
worshipping you." Then Allah commanded his angel to take the bounty of sight and put it on one scale.
He then commanded the angel to put the man's 70 years' worth of good deeds on the other scale. The
bounty of sight weighed heavier than the deeds of 70 years.
In summary, if for 70 years we were to worship Allah and do good deeds and refrain from bad deeds, we
will still not be able to repay Allah for one of His bounties. The Scholars say if you want to know Allah's
bounty on you, close your eyes. If we close our eyes and imagine that we can no longer see and try to
picture how our life would be, only then can we truly appreciate and value the mercy of Allah.

Conclusion
The hadiths are the sources of our iman (faith), knowledge, and guidance as we are taught by the
Prophet,
. Studying and understanding the Hadiths will activate our insight (basirah), enlighten our
hearts, and uplift our souls. This will by the help of Allah, lead us and keep us on the right path to the
end, insha Allah.

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Vocabulary

Wretched

Very unfortunate in condition or circumstances;


miserable; pitiable. Poor, sorry, or pitiful;
worthless. despicable, contemptible, or mean.
Something provided; a measure or other means
for meeting a need. The providing or supplying of
something, esp. of food or other necessities.
Nothing.
To outdo; surpass; excel.
To quit or leave entirely; abandon; desert.
To command, ordain, or decide by decree
The uterus of the human female.
Something provided; a measure or other means
for meeting a need. The providing or supplying of
something, esp. of food or other necessities.

Provision

Naught
Outstrip
Forsake
Decrees
Womb
Provision

Word Scramble
Unscramble the words below:
1. amsdlsebe________________

3. eesrced________________

2. bwmo________________

4. iispvroon________________

5. hwcredte________________

6. ostirput________________

7. tuhang________________

8. ferkosa________________

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Comprehension
Check

1. Who is the narrator of this hadith?


a. Abu 'Abd al-Rahman 'Abdullah bin 'Umar bin al-Khattab
b. Abu Hurayrah
c. Abbad ibn Bishr
d. Abdullah ibn Masud

2. List the three different aspects of the nafs.


a. ________________________________________________

b. ________________________________________________

c. ________________________________________________

3. In which surah in the Quran did Allah say that we were created to be tested?
a. Surah Al-Baqara
b. Surah Ad-Dhariyaat
c. Surah Al-Mulk
d. Surah An-Nas
e. None of the above

4. What is shahawat?
a. Self Control
b. Self-Respect
c. Self-Esteem
d. Self-Desires

5. Briefly name two external challenges that attract the internal challenges.
a. ____________________________________________________

b. ____________________________________________________

6. The human being consists of five components and understanding these helps us
understand Qadr. What are the five components?
a. Fitrah, Nafs, Al-Aql, Shahawat and Qalb (the heart)

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b. Al-aql, Fitrah, Shahawat, the covenant (agreement) [we made at the time
of our pre-creation], and Al-Iradah and Qudrah.
c. Al-Aql, Fitrah, Shahawat, Al-Iradah, and Qudrah
d. None of the above

7. When the angel is sent to the human being in the womb, what four things is the
angel commanded to write?
a. Rizq, life span, death location and number of children
b. Rizq, life span, Marriages, and number of children
c. Life span, Country of Citizenship, marriages, and if the person will go to
jannah or nar (hellfire).
d. Rizq, his life span, his deeds, and whether he will be among the wretched
or the blessed.

8. In which two books of hadith was this hadith recorded in?


a. Bukhari and Abu Dawud
b. Muslim and An-Nasai
c. Bukhari and Muslim
d. Bukhari and At-Tirmidi

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Memorization

Write the text of the hadith from memory below in Arabic or if you
are still learning to write in Arabic, write the text of the hadith English.
After you have written what you remember return to the hadith to
verify that you have written it correctly, leaving nothing out
inshaAllah.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Type text]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Type text]

Memorization

Fill in the blanks inshaAllah.


Several words are missing from the hadith. Use the word bank to fill in
the blanks inshaAllah.

Word Bank
truthful
wretched

forty ruh

Four life span

Blessed

arm's

deeds
written

rizq

Abu 'Abd al-Rahman 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud,


, reported: The Messenger of Allah,
most_____________, the most trusted, told us:

, the

"Verily the creation of any one of you takes place when he is assembled in his mother's womb;
for ___________days he is as a drop of fluid, then it becomes a clot for a similar period.
Thereafter, it is a lump looking like it has been chewed for a similar period. Then an angel is
sent to him, who breathes the ______(spirit) into him. This Angel is commanded to write
________decrees: that he writes down his provision (_____), his_____________, his________,
and whether he will be among the _____________or the______________.
I swear by Allah - there is no God but He - one of you may perform the deeds of the people of
Paradise till there is naught but an _______ length between him and it, when that which has
been written will outstrip him so that he performs the deeds of the people of the Hell Fire; one
of you may perform the deeds of the people of the Hell Fire, till there is naught but an arm's
length between him and it, when that which has been _____________will overtake him so that
he performs the deeds of the people of Paradise and enters therein."
[Al-Bukhari & Muslim]

[Type text]

Applying what youve


learned

In the left column of the table you will see words that were part of the lessons learned from
this hadith. Define what these words mean in the right hand corner inshaAllah.

Word
Al- Aql

Mukallaf

Fitrah

Qudrah

Nafs al-Mutma'inah

Definition

[Type text]

Personal Reflection
1). If the rizq of every person is written down by the angels while they are still in their mothers
womb why do you think people get upset when they cannot have something they want very
badly?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
2). When you cannot have something that you want and no matter how hard you try to get it,
you still do not get it, what should your response be? How should you feel about this?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
3). Allahu alim (Only Allah knows) but in your opinion, up to this point in your life, do you feel
you have been doing the deeds of the people of Jannah (paradise) or the deeds of the people of
Jahanam (Hell-fire)? In your opinion, if you have not been doing the deeds of the people of
Jannah, what do you want to do to change that inshaAllah? What has distracted or kept you
from doing the deeds of the people of Jannah? (complete the page that follows these questions
inshaAllah).
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

[Type text]

4). Based on this statement of the Prophet, I swear by Allah - there is no God but He - one of
you may perform the deeds of the people of Paradise till there is naught but an arm's length
between him and it, when that which has been written will outstrip him so that he performs the
deeds of the people of the Hell Fire; one of you may perform the deeds of the people of the
Hell Fire, till there is naught but an arm's length between him and it, when that which has been
written will overtake him so that he performs the deeds of the people of Paradise and enters
therein" why do you think it is important that a Muslim makes dua to Allah constantly and what
should a Muslim make dua to Allah for inshaAllah?

_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
5). In the lesson from this hadith, it is stated that if for 70 years we were to worship Allah and
do good deeds and refrain from bad deeds, we will still not be able to repay Allah for one of His
bounties. The Scholars say if you want to know Allah's bounty on you, close your eyes. If we
close our eyes and imagine that we can no longer see and try to picture how our life would be,
only then can we truly appreciate and value the mercy of Allah. Close your eyes, or have
someone blindfold you for 5 minutes. Try to live your life as usual without the gift of sight.
Describe your experience below inshaAllah and then complete the worksheet that follows The
Deeds I Do and How I Can Improve inshaAllah.
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

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The Deeds I do and How I


can improve myself
inshaAllah
The Deeds I do now I should
change for the sake of Allah

How I can change and improve


inshaAllah

Why is it important that I make these changes inshaAllah and what may happen if I
dont?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

[Type text]

For five minutes I could not see. At first _________________

The Gift of
Sight

_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

[Type text]

This was an experiment and I knew that after five minutes I would be able to see again
inshaAllah. But if Allah took my sight away __________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
I think not being able to see would be _______________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

[Type text]

The Gift of
Sight

Perhaps in your town/city, there is a school for people


who are blind. Ask your parents to contact that school
and ask if you would be allow to spend part of a school
day with those children. Observe how their lives are
different from your own. Document your observations
below inshaAllah.

My life with the Gift of Sight Alhamdulillah

Their life without sight subhanaAllah

[Type text]

How is your life different and how is it the same as the


students that you spent time with Alhamdulillah?

The Gift of
Sight

How has this experience changed your way of thinking


about the ability to see?
One of the scholars of this ummah was blind. He was a
mountain of knowledge. After completing this page, read
this scholars biography on the following pages
inshaAllah.

My Life

A blind persons life

[Type text]

The Gift of
Sight

How I felt about the ability to see before this experience:


_____________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

My feelings about the ability to see now:


_____________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

[Type text]

Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd Allah ibn Baaz

Biography

Ibn Baaz was born in the city of Riyadh during the month of Dhu al-Hijjah, 1909 to a family with a
reputation for their interest in Islam. His father died when he was only three, placing a big responsibility
on his mother to raise him. When asked about his childhood, the sheikh said: my father died when I
was three years old, and I only had my mother who took care of me and educated me encouraging me
to learn more about Sharia; she also died when I was twenty six. By the time he was thirteen he had
begun working, selling clothing with his brother in a market. Despite the fact that he helped a great deal
in supporting his family, he still found time to study the Quran, Hadith, Fiqh, and Tafsir. In 1927, when
he was sixteen, he started losing his eyesight after being afflicted with a serious infection in his eyes. By
the time he was twenty, he had totally lost his sight and become blind.
Career
He had assumed a number of posts and responsibilities such as:
The judge of Al Kharj district upon the recommendation of Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Lateef ash-Shaikh
from 1938 to 1951.
Held a teaching position in Riyadh at the Ma'had al-'Ilmee in 1951
In 1951 after spending fourteen years in al-Kharj as a judge, he was transferred to Riyadh where he
became a teacher in the Riyadh Institute of Science and taught in the Faculty of Sharia from 1961 to .
In 1961 he was appointed Vice President, and later President, of the Islamic University of Madinah.
In 1970 he became the Chancellor of the University upon the death of Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem Aal
ash-Shaykh and he remained chancellor until 1975.
In 1975 a royal decree named him Chairman of the Department of Scientific Research and Ifta with the
rank of Minister.
In 1992 he was appointed Grand Mufti of the Saudi Arabia and Head of the Council of Senior Scholars
and was granted presidency of the administration for scientific research and legal rulings.
President of the Permanent Committee for Research and Fatawa.
President and member of the Constituent Assembly of the World Muslim League.
President of the Higher World League Council.

[Type text]

President of the Islaamic Fiqh Assembly based in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.


Member of the Higher Council of the Islamic University of Medina.
Member of the Higher Committee for Islaamic Da'wah in Saudi Arabia.
Over the years, he held a large number of positions as president or member of various Islamic councils
and committees, and chaired a number of conferences both within Saudi Arabia and overseas, in
addition to writing a great number of books in different fields and issuing a large body of fatwa. In 1981
he was awarded the King Faisal International Prize for Service to Islam.

His Death
On Thursday morning, May 13, 1999, Ibn Baaz died at the age of 90 whilst prostrating in prayer. The
next day, following Friday prayer, King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz, Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, Sultan
bin Abdul Aziz, and hundreds of thousands of people performed the funeral prayer at the Masjid alHaram in Mecca.
King Fahd issued a decree appointing Abdul-Azeez ibn Abdullaah Aal ash-Shaikh as the new Grand Mufti
after Bin Baaz's death.
Activities
Ibn Baaz had undertaken a number of charitable and other activities such as:
His endless support for Dawah organizations and Islamic centers in many parts of the world.
The establishment and supervision of schools for teaching the Qur'an.
The foundation of an organization that facilitates marriage for Muslim youth.
The popular radio program, Nurun AlaDarb ("light on the path"), in which he discussed many current
issues and answered questions from listeners as well as providing fatwa if needed.
Ibn Baaz was considered by many to be prolific speaker both in public and privately at his masjid. Like his
books, his lectures and sermons were numerous and revolved frequently around the situation of the
Muslim world. In addition, much of his time was devoted to the lessons he gave after Fajr prayer,
teaching during the day, meeting delegates from Muslim countries and sitting with people after Maghrib
prayer to provide counseling and advice on personal matters. He also used to invite people after Isha
prayer to share a meal with him

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Activities
Word Search

C
K
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B
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S
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Biography
Abdullah ibn Masud
When he was still a youth, not yet past the age of puberty, he used to roam the mountain trails
of Makkah far away from people, tending the flocks of a Quraysh chieftain, Uqbah ibn Muayt.
People called him "Ibn Umm Abd"--the son of the mother of a slave. His real name was
Abdullah and his father's name was Masud.

The youth had heard the news of the Prophet who had appeared among his people but he did
not attach any importance to it both because of his age and because he was usually far away
from Makkan society. It was his custom to leave with the flock of Uqbah early in the morning
and not return until nightfall.
One day while tending the flocks, Abdullah saw two men, middle-aged and of dignified bearing,
coming towards him from a distance. They were obviously very tired. They were also so thirsty
that their lips and throat were quite dry. They came up to him, greeted him and said, "Young
man, milk one of these sheep for us that we may quench our thirst and recover our strength."
"I cannot," replied the young man. "The sheep are not mine. I am only responsible for looking
after them."
The two men did not argue with him. In fact, although they were so thirsty, they were
extremely pleased at the honest reply. The pleasure showed on their faces . . .
The two men in fact were the blessed Prophet himself and his companion, Abu Bakr Siddiq.
They had gone out on that day to the mountains of Makkah to escape the violent persecution
of the Quraysh.
The young man in turn was impressed with the Prophet and his companion and soon became
quite attached to them.
It was not long before Abdullah ibn Masud became a Muslim and offered to be in the service of
the Prophet. The Prophet agreed and from that day the fortunate Abdullah ibn Masud gave up
tending sheep in exchange for looking after the needs of the blessed Prophet.
Abdullah ibn Masud remained closely attached to the Prophet. He would attend to his needs
both inside and outside the house. He would accompany him on journeys and expeditions. He

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would wake him when he slept. He would shield him when he washed. He would carry his staff
and his siwak (toothbrush) and attend to his other personal needs .
Abdullah ibn Masud received a unique training in the household of the Prophet. He was under
the guidance of the Prophet, he adopted his manner and followed his every trait until it was
said of him, "He was the closest to the Prophet in character."
Abdullah was taught in the 'school" of the Prophet. He was the best reciter of the Quran among
the companions and he understood it better than them all. He was therefore the most
knowledgeable on the Shariah. Nothing can illustrate this better than the story of the man who
came to Umar ibn al-Khattab as he was standing on the plain of Arafat and said:
"I have come, O Amir al-Mumineen, from Kufah where I left a man filling copies of the Quran
from memory." Umar became very angry and paced up and down beside his camel, fuming.
"Who is he?" he asked. "Abdullah ibn Masud," replied the man. Umar's anger subsided and he
regained his composure. "Woe to you," he said to the man. "By God, I don't know of any person
left who is more qualified in this matter than he is. Let me tell you about this." Umar continued:
"One night the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, was having a conversation with Abu
Bakr about the situation of Muslims. I was with them. When the Prophet left, we left with him
also and as we passed through the mosque, there was a man standing in Prayer whom we did
not recognize. The Prophet stood and listened to him, then turned to us and said, 'Whoever
wants to read the Quran as fresh as when it was revealed, then let him read according to the
recitation of Ibn Umm Abd.'
After the Prayer, as Abdullah sat making supplications, the Prophet, peace be on him, said, "Ask
and it will be given to you. Ask and it will be given to you." Umar continued: "I said to myself, I
shall go to Abdullah ibn Masud straight away and tell him the good news of the Prophet's
ensuring acceptance of his supplications. I went and did so but found that Abu Bakr had gone
before me and conveyed the good news to him. By God, I have never yet beaten Abu Bakr in
the doing of any good."
Abdullah ibn Masud attained such a knowledge of the Quran that he would say, "By Him
besides Whom there is no god, no verse of the book of God has been revealed without my
knowing where it was revealed and the circumstances of its revelation. By God, if I know there
was anyone who knew more of the Book of Allah, I will do whatever is in my power to be with
him."
Abdullah was not exaggerating in what he said about himself. Once Umar ibn al-Khattab met a
caravan on one of his journeys as caliph. It was pitch dark and the caravan could not be seen
properly. Umar ordered someone to hail the caravan. It happened that Abdullah ibn Masud was
in it.
"From where do you come?" asked Umar.

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"From a deep valley," came the reply. (The expression used fajj amiq deep valley--is a Quranic
one).
"And where are you going?" asked Umar.
"To the ancient house," came the reply. (The expression used al-bayt al-atiq ancient house, is a
Quranic one.)
"There is a learned person (alim) among them," said Umar and he commanded someone to ask
the person:
"Which part of the Quran is the greatest?"
"God. There is no god except Him, the Living, the Self-subsisting. Neither slumber overtakes
Him nor sleep," replied the person answering, quoting the Ayat al-Kursi (the verse of the
Throne).
"Which part of the Quran is the most clear on justice?"
"God commands what it just and fair the feeding of relatives..." came the answer.
"What it the most comprehensive statement of the Quran?'
"Whoever does an atom's weight of good shall see it, and whoever does an atom's weight of
evil shall see it."
"Which part of the Quran gives risk to the greatest hope?'
"Say, O my servants who have wasted their resources, do not despair of the mercy of God.
Indeed, God forgives all sins. He is the Forgiving, the Compassionate."
Thereupon Umar asked:
"Is Abdullah ibn Masud among you?'
"Yes, by God," the men in the caravan replied.
Abdullah ibn Masud was not only a reciter of the Quran, a learned man or a fervent worshipper.
He was in addition a strong and courageous fighter, one who became deadly serious when the
occasion demanded it.
The companions of the Prophet were together one day in Makkah. They were still few in
number, weak and oppressed. They said, "The Quraysh have not yet heard the Quran being
recited openly and loudly. Who is the man who could recite it for them?'

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"I shall recite it from them," volunteered Abdullah ibn Masud . "We are afraid for you," they
said. "We only want someone who has a clan who would protect him from their evil . "
"Let me," Abdullah ibn Masud insisted, "Allah shall protect me and keep me away from their
evil." He then went out to the mosque until he reached Maqam Ibrahim (a few meters from the
Kabah). It was dawn and the Quraysh were sitting around the Kabah. Abdullah stopped at the
Maqam and began to recite:
"Bismillah irRahma nirRahim. Ar-Rahman. Allama-l Quran. Khalaqal insan. Allamahul bayan... (In
the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful. The Merciful God. He has taught the Quran. He
has created man and taught him the clear truth...)"
He went on reciting. The Quraysh looked at him intently and some of them asked: "What is Ibn
Umm Abd saying?" "Damn him! He is reciting some of what Muhammad brought!" they
realized.
They went up to him and began beating his face as he continued reciting. When he went back
to his companions the blood was flowing from his face.
"This is what we feared for you," they said. "By God," replied Abdullah, "the enemies of God are
not more comfortable than I at this moment. If you wish. I shall go out tomorrow and do the
same." "You have done enough," they said. "You have made them hear what they dislike."
Abdullah ibn Masud lived to the time of Khalifah Uthman, may God be pleased with him. When
he was sick and on his death-bed, Uthman came to visit him and said:
"What is your ailment?"
"My sins."
"And what do you desire?"
"The mercy of my Lord."
"Shall I not give you your stipend which you have refused to take for years now?"
"I have no need of it."
"Let it be for your daughters after you."
"Do you fear poverty for my children? I have commanded them to read Surah al-Waqiah every
night for I have heard the Prophet saying, "Whoever reads Al-Waqiah every night shall not be
afflicted by poverty ever."

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That night, Abdullah passed away to the company of his Lord, his tongue moist with the
remembrance of God and with the recitation of the verses of His Book.

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Hadith 5
The Text:

It is narrated on the authority of the Mother of the Believers, Umm 'Abdullah 'Aishah,
the Messenger of Allah
, said:

, that

"Whosoever introduces into this affair of ours (i.e. into Islam) something that does not belong to
it, it is to be rejected."
[Al-Bukhari & Muslim]
According to the version in Muslim, (it reads): "Whosoever works a work which has for it no
command of ours is to be rejected."

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Lessons from
this Hadith

Background
Like Hadith 1, this hadith is one of the most important hadiths. Imam Nawawi said it should be
memorized by every Muslim.

This hadith is used as a criterion for judging external actions or performance of Ibadah. If an action is not
done in accordance with the Shariah or the Sunnah of the Prophet, , it will be rejected and not
accepted by Allah based on text of this hadith. This hadith complements Hadith 1, which was a criterion
for judging the intentions or the internal actions of the heart. The Scholars say that the acceptance of
actions of Ibadah is based on the above two conditions:
i.
ii.

The intention - the action should be done with sincerity, for the sake of only Allah.
It should be done in accordance with the Sunnah of the Prophet, .

Apart from Hadith 1 and Hadith 5, the acceptance of actions can also be found in Surah Al-Kahf (18):
ayat 110:
Whoever looks forward to meeting his Sustainer (on Day of Judgment), let him do righteous deeds, and
let him not ascribe unto anyone or anything a share in the worship due to his Sustainer.

Emulating and following the Prophet,

, is a Qur'anic obligation. Allah, the Almighty says:

Verily, in the apostle of God you have the best example to emulate for everyone who looks forward
(with hope and awe) to Allah and the Last Day, and remembers Allah unceasingly. [Surah Al-Ahzab (33):
ayat 21].
Say (O Prophet): "If you love Allah, follow me, (and) Allah will love you and forgive you your sins.

Lessons
This hadith is related to a very important concept which is following the Sunnah and violating this
concept will lead to bida'ah [which will be discussed in detail, insha Allah, in Hadith 28].

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Scholars classify actions of the Prophet, , into actions done for the purpose of Ibadah (worshiping
Allah) and actions which are not done for that purpose (i.e. customs, actions done haphazardly, etc.).
There are clear indicators for actions done for the purpose of Ibadah such as commands to do or not to
do something, warnings for not doing something, etc.
Muslims are only obliged to follow the first kind of Sunnah.

Looking at it in a positive way, the actions (i.e.forms of ibadah) that we do should be done in accordance
with the Shariah or the Sunnah of the Prophet,
, and to ensure this, there is a criterion consisting of
five aspects that will keep our actions in check:
i.

Time
Any ibadah that we do has to be done in its designated or specified time.
E.g. There are fixed times in the day for the five prayers. For fasting, the month for fasting is
Ramadan. The period that we can fast is from fajr to sunset. Similarly, there is a specific time in
the year when we can perform the Hajj - from the 8 to the 12 Thul - hijjah.

ii.

Place
The Shariah has specified that certain ibadahs have to be performed in designated places. E.g.
The places for performing the Hajj, I'tikaf, doing Ihram for Hajj have been fixed by the Shariah
and this is something which is sometimes violated by Muslims, e.g. doing the Ihram (starting
talbiyyah and niyyah for Hajj) in Jeddah is incorrect.

iii.

Quantity
For most of the ibadahs the Shariah has specified a certain number of times that the ibadahs or
their components need to be performed. E.g. For prayers, there are specified number of
rakaahs and sujud and for Tawaf there is a fixed number of rounds (7), etc. We should not
violate these rules intentionally. To violate intentionally may make the ibadah subject to be
rejected.

iv.

Way
Every ibadah was described or shown to us by the Prophet, - being our best model to follow
and emulate. The way that the ibadahs are performed by him have to be followed - it should not
be violated. E.g. There are different ways of performing different prayers - Salat ul-Janazah has
no ruku' or sujud. Even the size of the stones used for throwing at the Jamrat has been specified
by the Prophet, , as not to be too big.

Before we perform any ibadah, we should know and learn the way the Prophet,
, performed
it and we should do it in the right way as he did it. The Prophet, , said, "Pray as you have seen
me praying." Many Muslims today violate the way ibadahs are performed, because of ignorance
or because they do not bother to learn, and they end up doing the ibadah in the wrong way.
v.

Type
If the Shariah has specified a type of ibadah, then we should stick to that type. E.g. Al-Udhiah
(sacrifice) - the type of animal to be sacrificed has been specified by the Shariah and this should

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not be violated. Recently a Sheikh in one of the Muslim countries made a fatwa that Muslims
can use chicken as sacrifice - this is a violation of the type. If a Muslim cannot afford to offer a
sacrifice, then they don't have to do it as it is not a wajib (i.e. an obligation). In certain years,
some of the Sahabahs (companions) purposely did not perform the sacrifice so that the people
did not think that it was a wajib.

A clear distinction should be made about the actions of the Prophet,


- whether they were done only
from time to time or whether they were done continuously on a regular basis. For example, some of the
nawafil are things which he, , would do from time to time. We should observe this. E.g. Certain
Surahs being recited on certain days - it is narrated that the Prophet,
, would sometimes recite Surah
As-Sajdah (32) and Surah Al-Insan (76) on Fridays. But some Muslims would recite these two Surahs
every Friday. We should be aware of this because if we do something regularly people will think that it is
wajib even though it is not.

If the Prophet, , did something only from time to time, then we too should do it from time to time,
especially when we do it in congregation.

As it has been mentioned above, the actions of the Prophet,


, were done for different purposes.
There were actions which he,
, would do [not for the purpose of ibadah]. There are things he, ,
would do because of the custom of that time. These actions were not done by the Prophet,
, for the
purpose of ibadah. We too should not do these actions for ibadah - our intentions should match the
intentions of the Prophet, . The following are some examples:

At the time of the Prophet, , the men used to have long hair - it was not done for the purpose
of ibadah. So if anyone wants to keep long hair today, it should not be done for ibadah.
The Prophet,
, used to open the top buttons of his shirt - this was because it was hot and not
because for the purpose of ibadah.
The turban, at the time of the Prophet, , was worn because it was the custom then.
Some hadiths mention the Prophet, , using a stick. Again this was not done for the purpose of
ibadah.

We should not follow these examples of the Prophet,

, for the purpose of ibadah.

How do we differentiate between the actions of the Prophet,


, which were done for the purpose of
ibadah and those which were not? The Scholars say if the Prophet,
, commanded us to do an action
or commanded us not to do something, then this is considered an ibadah. Or if the Prophet, ,
mentioned that the doer will receive certain rewards if an action is done, then it is an ibadah. Or if the
failure for doing a certain action would result in punishment, then the action is an ibadah.

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This issue of introducing something which doesn't belong to the Shariah is associated with the concept
that Islam is a complete religion [Surah Al-Ma'idah (5): ayat 3]:
Today have I perfected your religion for you, and have bestowed upon you the full measure of My
blessings, and willed that Islam shall be your Religion.
Since it is complete, there is no need for additions or deletions to the religion. Therefore to introduce
some new matter into Islam or to delete/omit something from it is an affront to Allah and the Prophet,
.

Al-Imam al-Shatibi mentions that if certain actions are taken as ibadah where in reality they are not, this
will lead to bid'ah. There is a hadith which tells the story of three men who only wanted to do 'good
deeds' all the time - one said he will not get married, the second one said he will pray all night and not
sleep, and the third said he will fast every day. When the Prophet, , heard this, he said that he, ,
was the most pious and righteous amongst the people and yet he did not do the things the way the men
wanted to do them. This shows that the actions that the three men thought were ibadah would have
resulted in bid'ah as they weren't practiced by the Prophet,
.

Al-Shatibi also mentions that avoiding eating certain types of food for the purpose of ibadah should not
be done. We can avoid these foods for health or other good reasons but not for the purpose of ibadah.

He also says that if there are two ways of fulfilling an obligation, we should follow the easier way. E.g. If
the weather is cold and if we have the choice of using warm or cold water (for wudu'), we should use
warm water. We shouldn't use cold water and inflict discomfort on ourselves, trying to show that we are
stronger Muslims and hoping for extra rewards. Or if there is choice of going to two masjids (mosques)
of different distances, we should go to the nearer one.

The Prophet,
, was passing through a place when he noticed someone standing in the middle of the
street in the sun. The Prophet, , asked the Sahabahs what this man was doing. They said that he
made a commitment to fast while standing in the sun. The Prophet
, told them to tell the man to
continue his fasting (because this was a good thing to do anyway and fulfilling a commitment is an
obligation) but to get out of the sun.
Scholars deduce that we should not attach any hardship to our ibadah hoping that it will make it more
rewardable. Shariah is based on ease. Therefore we should always choose the easier way when
performing an ibadah because this will enable us to do it properly - if we were to choose the difficult
route then we may, after a while, find difficulty in keeping to our commitment in performing this ibadah.
An attached hardship to an ibadah, which has not been specified by the Shariah, should be avoided - we
should not place any hardship in performing any ibadah.

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The Scholars say if someone violates the Shariah by adding something new to an ibadah, the ibadah is
rejected depending on what kind of violation has been done. For example, in prayer if someone violates
its conditions, then his ibadah will definitely not be accepted.
If an action is any kind of bid'ah, then it is subject to being rejected and the person who performed that
action will be asked about it and might be subject to be punished. But if there is a valid excuse for doing
that action, the action will not be rewarded but the person may be excused and not punished by Allah.
In worldly dealings and transactions (e.g. Al-Mu'amalat), if someone changes/modifies the principles of
the dealings and this violates the Shariah law, then that dealing or transaction is rejected. E.g. changing
trading based on haram principles, etc.

Ibnu Rajab mentions that there are certain actions, which violate the Shariah, but the Scholars have
differing views about them. For example, if a man wears natural silk while performing his prayer, is his
prayer acceptable? Or if someone prays in a house which is stolen, taken by force from the owner. Most
Scholars say the action is acceptable but the person will be asked about his wrongdoing (wearing silk,
praying in a stolen place).

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Vocabulary
Define the following words. One has been done for you.

Shariah
Bidah
Wajib
Ibadah
Criterion
Consisting
Rejected

Innovation

Word Scramble

Unscramble the words below:

1. rtcneoiri________________

2. tcsnngosii________________

3. jceedret________________

4. hdaib________________

5. iahbda________________

6. aijwb________________

7. ashiahr________________

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Comprehension
Check
1. Who is the narrator of this hadith?
a. Asma bint Abu Bakr as-Siddiq
b. Aisha bint Abu Bakr as-Siddiq
c. Fatima bint Muhammad
d. Hind bint Abu Sufyan

2. Why is bidah considered wrong in Islam?


a. Because it would give Muslims too many types of worship to do.
b. Bidah is wrong because it is a type of critizim of the Prophet. It is saying
that he did not bring the complete Shariah (Islamic Law) and this is not
correct.
c. Bidah is not considered wrong in Islam.
d. None of the above

3. What is the proof from that Islam is complete (i.e. does not need anything added
or taken away from it)?
a. Surah al-Maidah, ayah 3
b. Surah al-Baqarah, ayah 256
c. Surah al-Mulk, ayah 42
d. None of the above

4. What are the 5 criterion that we can use to check to make sure that an act of
worship we are doing is not a bidah?
a. Time, Quantity, Quran, A Hadith to support it and a fatwa from a sheikh
b. Time, Place, Quantity, Way, and Type
c. Place, Difficulty, Time, Quran and A Hadith to support it
d. All of the above

5. This hadith is used to judge what two things?


a. Bidah and Shirk
b. Bidah and Kufr (disbelief)
c. Bidah and ibadah
d. External actions or performance of Ibadah
e. Internal Actions or performance of Ibadah
f. All of the above

[Type text]

6. Ibnu Rajab mentions that there are certain actions, which violate the Shariah, but
the Scholars have differing views about them. What examples were given?
a. A man wearing a gold watch and a man wearing a natural silk garment
while praying.
b. A man praying while wearing a natural silk garment and praying in a
stolen place that was taken by force from its owner.
c. Praying in a stolen place that was taken by force from its owner and a
woman wearing fake hair.
d. A woman praying while her face is covered and a man wearing his hair
long.

7. What did the Prophet


say to the man who said that he made a commitment
to fast while standing in the sun?
a. The Prophet

told him he was doing a good thing and praised him.

b. The Prophet

told him to break his fast and get out of the sun.

c. The Prophet

told him to stay in the sun but to break his fast.

d. The Prophet

told him to keep fasting but to get out of the sun.

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Memorization

Write the text of the hadith from memory below in Arabic or if you
are still learning to write in Arabic, write the text of the hadith English.
After you have written what you remember return to the hadith to
verify that you have written it correctly, leaving nothing out
inshaAllah.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Applying what youve


learned

This activity will take research on your part inshaAllah. Fill in the chart below inshaAllah.

Bidaah
YES
Festival of Eid al-Abrar (the
Righteous)

Seeking refuge with Allah from


the Shaytaan before you begin
reading Quran
Saying Sadaqallahu athim
when you finish reciting Quran

Praying 2 rakaat of sunnah


prayer before Fajr

Saying the name of Allaah on its


own (AllaahAllaah Allaah)
or the pronoun (Hu Hu
Hu, meaning He He He)
Celebrating completing the
Quran (by throwing a party, etc.)

Reading ayat al-Kusri before you


sleep at night

Wearing a necklace with the


Name of Allah for protection or
for decoration.
Celebrating the Prophets
Birthday

Celebrating your own birthday or


anyones birthday
Hanging ayaat of Quran for
protection in the house or car

NO

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Doing a lot of worship in the


middle of the month of Shabaan

Keep in mind that a bidah is bidah means something that has been introduced into the religion of
Allaah that has no general or specific basis to support it.

For all acts that you checked where not a bidah, give the proof/evidence for the act being
legislated (approved of) either in the Quran or the Sunnah.

Act that is not a Bidah

Proof from the Quran and/or


Authentic Sunnah

[Type text]

Define in your own words each of the 5 aspects of the criterion that we use to judge if our actions are
bidah or not.

Aspect
Time

Place

Quantity

Way

Type

Definition of the aspect

Example of the aspect

[Type text]

Personal Reflection
1). In your own words, tell why a person introducing some new act of worship (or new way of drawing
closer to Allah) into the religion of Islam is an allegation against Allah
and His Messenger
. By
introducing some new act of worship into the religion what is that person accusing Allah and His
Messenger of?
_________________________________________________________________________________
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_________________________________________________________________________________
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_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________

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2). There is an ayah in the Quran that is the strongest proof against introducing a new act of worship
into the religion of Islam. Write this ayah out in Arabic and in English. Try to memorize it inshaAllah.
Once you have memorized it, recite it to someone who can check your recitation and verify that you
have succeeded in your memorization effort inshaAllah.

The ayah:
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
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_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
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_________________________________________________________________________________
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_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________

[Type text]

Activities

Word Search Puzzle


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CRYPTOGRAM
A B C D E F G H I

J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

19 15 7 14 9 12 17 10 26 20 16 13 2 25 21 23 22 1 3 5 24 8 18 4 6 11

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Directions:
This puzzle is called a Cryptogram. At the top there is a KEY that lists all the letters from A thru Z with a box below.
Each of the letters has a corresponding number.

The bottom part contains a secret phrase. Each of the blanks has a number underneath it. Fill in the letters that
correspond to the numbers below the blanks to solve the phrase.

[Type text]

Biography

Aisha bint Abu Bakr

'Aisha was born in 614 CE, she had claims to noble birth from both sides of the family. Her mother was
Umm Roman and her father was Abu Bakr As-Siddiq.
She said that there were nine blessings of Allah which distinguished her from all other women in the
world except Maryam bint 'Imran, the mother of 'Issa.
The Angel Jibril had presented her portrait wrapped in green silk to Muhammad (peace and blessings be
upon him) and told him that this was the picture of the lady chosen by Allah, to be his consort both in
this world and the next.
She was the only virgin to have become the wife of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
When the Prophet passed away, he was resting in her lap and was buried in her apartment.
Many times angels encircled her apartment with love and respect.
Very often divine revelation would come to Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) when they
were lying together resting in peace and tranquility.
She was the daughter of a true friend of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), Abu Bakr AsSiddiq.
Ayat had descended from the heavens from Allah proving her innocence.
She was born a Muslim and had been brought up in a pure environment, and spent her formative years
with the best of creatures, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
Allah, the Lord, the Sustainer of the Universe promised her Divine Forgiveness and abundant bounties.
As a girl she used to play with dolls, Once Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) visited her
father, he saw her playing with a winged horse; she was barely five years old at the time. When he
inquired she said it's a horse. He smiled and answered that horses didn't have wings! She promptly
retorted that the Prophet Sulaiman had winged horses, which showed even at this tender age she was
intelligent on religious and historical matters. At the age of 8 years, she experienced an historic move,
when the first Islamic state was on rise, she was able to recall all the minor details. Next year she joined
the household of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

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Small rooms were constructed around the Prophet's Mosque, and Aisha occupied one of these, on the
eastern side of the Mosque it had earthen walls with a roof made of leaves and twigs. It was covered
with a blanket to prevent rainwater from seeping through and the roof was so low that a person
standing upright could touch it. The door never closed and a blanket hung as curtain. Close to the room,
on a slightly higher level was another small room. A mat, a thin mattress, a pillow filled with the bark of
trees, a water bag, a small plate for dates and a glass for drinking water were all the things in the room.
This sparse little room was filled with spiritual treasures.
When the whole of Arabia was under authority of Islam, huge quantities of grain and cash flowed into
the central treasury. But on the day that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away,
there was not even food for a single day in his household. Aisha maintained this tradition up to her last
days.
Aisha was very charitable, all money that came her way was given away as soon as possible One day a
beggar came to her and asked for food. She told her maid to give the lady the piece of bread they had.
The maid answered that there was nothing else with which she could break her fast. 'Aisha said help the
hungry woman and the evening would take care of itself. By the blessings of Allah in the evening
someone sent her a dish of cooked meat; She also sold the house she owned to give the price in charity.
She loved her sister's son, 'Abdullah bin Zubayr, very deeply. He loved her and always looked after her
needs. Once he remarked that her generosity needed to be restrained. 'A'ishah was upset when she
heard this; she swore she would never to talk to him. Finally, when she calmed down and made up with
him, she freed several slaves as penance for breaking her oath.
'Aisha was soft-hearted. On one occasion when a beggar carrying two children came to her door; Aisha
had only three dates in the house. These she gave her; the woman gave one each to the children and
started eating one herself. One of the children ate his share quickly and started looking at his mother
eating her date. The woman could not bear her child's hunger and took the date from her mouth, broke
it into two halves, and gave a piece to each of the children. When 'Aisha saw this heart-rending scene
she could not control her tears.
In the month of Sha'ban, Aisha accompanied Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) who led
the Muslim army towards Qadid, where a minor battle started with tribe of Banu Mustalaq. Several
hypocrites were also part of the army during this particular battle. She had borrowed a necklace from
her sister Asma'. On the way back the army camped in the desert, and Aisha went far into desert to
relieve herself. Suddenly she realized that the necklace dropped along the way. She found it after a long
search. When she reached the site, the caravan had left, the normal procedure was that the ladies, who
were segregated from the men folk, would get into their litter and draw the curtains. Then the camel
drivers would place the litter on the camel's back. Since 'Aisha was very light no one realized her
absence. She lay down, waiting for her companions to return.
Safwan bin Mu'attil had the responsibility of checking the camp site for things which might have been
left behind, at daybreak he arrived to find someone lying down in a Jilbab. When 'Aisha heard him she
woke up, and got on to the camel. He then walked leading the camel by the bridle.
At noon when the caravan had just reached the next camp site to rest, they saw 'Aisha arriving with
Safwan. Madinah was flooded by loose talk that 'Aisha was a loose woman and her character was

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suspect, led by 'Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Salul. Hasan bin Thabit, Hamnah bint Jahash, and Mastah bin
Athathah who joined the hypocrites. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was extremely
disturbed when he heard this talk, but 'Aisha was blissfully ignorant of all this.
One night when she went out with the mother of Mastah bin Athathah. The lady tripped and started
cursing her son. 'Aisha said that he was a Companion of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
who fought in the Battle of Badr and deserved respect. The old lady retorted that 'Aisha was ignorant of
the fact that he was involved in an awful plot; she revealed what had been taking place behind her back.
On returning home, she took the permission of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and
went to visit her parents. She was heartbroken, her sympathetic and loving parents advised her to be
patient and everything would be cleared up. But she could not accept the fact that people could
descend to such cruel depths. After two days and nights of continuous weeping she fell ill.
On the third morning, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to see her. He told her very
gently that if she erred she should ask Allah for His forgiveness. She said to her husband that if she
denied she was guilty, nobody would believe her; but she was innocent and only Allah knew it. The best
answer to these accusations was to quote the answer of the father of Yusuf,
"So (for me) patience is most fitting. And it is Allah Whose help can be sought against that (lie) which
you describe." [Noble Quran 12]
At precisely this moment, the Ayat announcing her innocence were revealed. When the revelation
ended he then turned to 'Aisha with a smile and started reciting the Ayat,
"Verily, those who brought forth the slander are a group among you. Consider it not a bad thing for you.
Nay, it is good for you. Unto every man among them will be paid that which he earned of the sin, and as
for him among them who had the greater share therein, his will be a great torment. Why then, did not
the believers, men and women, when you heard it (the slander), think good of their own people and say:
"This (charge) is an obvious lie?" Why did they not produce four witnesses? Since they (the slanderers)
have not produced witnesses! Then with Allah they are the liars. Had it not been for the Grace of Allah
and His Mercy unto you in this world and in the Hereafter, a great torment would have touched you for
that whereof you had spoken. When you were propagating it with your tongues, and uttering with your
mouths that whereof you had no knowledge, you counted it a little thing, while with Allah it was very
great. And why did you not, when you heard it, say: "It is not right for us to speak of this. Glory be to You
(O Allah)! This is a great lie." Allah forbids you from it and warns you not to repeat the like of it forever,
if you are believers. And Allah makes the Ayat plain to you, and Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise. Verily,
those who like that (the crime of) illegal sexual intercourse should be propagated among those who
believe, they will have a painful torment in this world and in the Hereafter. And Allah knows and you
know not. And had it not been for the Grace of Allah and His Mercy on you, (Allah Would have hastened
the punishment upon you). And that Allah is full of kindness, Most Merciful. O you who believe! Follow
not the footsteps of Shaytan. And whosoever follows the footsteps of Shaytan, then, verily, he
commands Al-Fahsha' (illegal sexual intercourse), and Al-Munkar (evil and wicked deeds). And had it not
been for the Grace of Allah and His Mercy on you, not one of you would ever have been pure from sins.
But Allah purifies (guides to Islam) whom He wills, and Allah is All-Hearer, All-Knower." [Noble Quran 2421]
Her parents were proud and relieved; pride that their daughter had been honored with a Quranic
revelation, and relief that she was acquitted of any wrongdoing. They asked their daughter to rise and

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thank her husband, 'Aisha promptly replied that she was grateful to her Allah for He had revealed
Quranic Ayat in her honor. This episode is known in Islamic History as the Event of Al-Ifk.
After this incident the Prophet's respect for 'Aisha increased even more. 'Amr bin 'Aas once asked
Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) who he loved most in this world, and he replied that he
loved 'Aisha more than anyone else. Then he asked him about the men folk. And the Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him) answered that he loved Aisha's father the most. On one occasion 'Umar told his
daughter Hafsah not to try and compete with 'Aisha as Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)
valued her very highly.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) loved to listen to 'Aisha talking and always smiled when
she spoke. On one 'Eid day there were some Africans displaying their skill with spears; 'Aisha wanted to
watch, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood in front of her so she could enjoy and
not be seen. And he did not move until she tired of it.
But all this pleasant entertainment could not distract Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)
from his duty to Allah. When the Mu'adthin's call to prayer would be heard, he immediately would rise
and prepare to go the mosque, the love for Allah had priority over all other affections and interests.
Once they camped at a place in the desert and again 'Aisha's necklace fell off. Some of the companions
were sent to find it. When the call for morning prayers was given, there was no water for ablution. The
Companions were worried about the morning prayers, and held Aisha responsible. Her father rebuked
his daughter for creating a situation, which might lead to the prayers being missed. Exactly at this
moment this Ayat was revealed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him),
"And if you are ill, or on a journey, or one of you comes after answering the call of nature, or you have
been in contact with women (by sexual relations) and you find no water, perform Tayammum with clean
earth and rub therewith your face and hands. Truly, Allah is Ever Oft-Pardoning, Oft-Forgiving." [Noble
Quran 4]
The people expressed their thanks for such a great favor Allah granted because of her. Abu Bakr AsSiddiq had not realized until that moment how pleased Allah was with her.
By the ninth year after Hijrah, Islam had spread over most of Arabia. Madinah became a flourishing
state. Some wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) requested a increase in allowances.
This disturbed the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and he declared that for one month he
would separate himself from his wives, and he went into seclusion.
After 29 days he came to 'Aisha's apartment, and told her to make a choice after consulting her parents;
choose him and a life of hardship, or leave him and lead a life of ease. 'Aisha had no doubt in her mind;
she immediately answered that she and her parents would sacrifice their lives for him if need arose,
there was no need to consult her parents and she would prefer life with him to the world and its
attractions. A beautiful smile lit his face. And then Allah revealed the following,
"O Prophet Say to your wives: 'If you desire the life of this world, and its glitter, them come! I will make
a provision for you and set you free in a handsome manner (divorce). But if you desire Allah And His
Messenger, and the Home of the hereafter, then verily, Allah has prepared for the good-doers among
you an enormous reward." [Noble Quran 33-29]

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All the wives took the same decision as 'Aisha.


In two recorded incidents Aisha saw Jibril personally.
On one occasion, 'Aisha saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) talking to a rider of a horse.
When she inquired about the stranger, he was surprised that she saw him and told her it was the Angel
Jibril as human and sent greetings to you. She prayed that Allah give reward to the honored guest and to
noble host.
Anas narrates: Once Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was praying in 'Aisha's apartment, she
saw someone standing outside the door. When he finished his prayers she informed him. It was angel
Jibril. Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) invited him inside but he replied that they don't
enter where there were dogs or pictures. When Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) looked
around he saw a puppy in a corner of the room; when he was chased out then the angel entered.
'Aisha attained a lofty status because of her knowledge. Everyone consulted her on the finer points of
religion. Many Hadiths originated from her 2210 in number.. She was among the top seven companions
who narrated thousands of Hadiths.
Imam Dthahabi wrote that she was a theologian of the highest order. She imbibed divinely inspired
knowledge and wisdom from the very fountainhead of Prophethood and an eyewitness to problems and
their answers by divine revelations. Her apartment was the centre where Ayat were revealed by the
divine Mercy of Allah. Thus she was given the title of 'Horizon of the Ladies of Islam'.
During the time of Khulafa-u-Rashidin, her Fatwas were accepted. Once someone asked Masruq if 'Aisha
had mastery over Shari'ah laws regarding inheritance. He swore that he had seen Companions asking
her questions about the finer points of the laws of inheritance. 'Urwah bin Zubayr, her sister Asma's son
often visited her to discuss religious issues with her. Other Companions envied him as he could freely
approach her at any time.
Once the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and 'Aisha were not feeling well. The Prophet
(peace and blessings be upon him) said that if she died before him he would bathe her and shroud her
and lower her into her grave and pray for her. She light heartedly replied that it seemed as if he would
celebrate her death; and she told him that in case she died before him, he should bring a new wife into
her apartment. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) smiled at this.
Her brother, 'Abdur-Rahman came in during his last moments with a Siwak in his hand; the Prophet
(peace and blessings be upon him) looked longingly at it. 'Aisha understood and asked him if she could
offer one to him. When he nodded, she took it and softened it with her teeth and offered it to him. He
cleaned his teeth; and dipping his hand frequently in water, he kept wiping his face again and again,
repeating the words,
"There is none worthy of worship but Allah. Verily, death has pains." Then he pointed upward with his
hand and said, "Toward the best friend"
Aisha once had a dream that three moons descended into her apartment. When the Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him) passed away he was buried in her apartment. Her father told her that part of her

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dream came true that day - the first moon irradiated her apartment. Later, her father and then Umar AlKhattab was buried next to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) which fulfilled the prophesy
of her dream.
Imam Dthahabi quoted a saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that a Prophet's soul
leaves its body in the place that it likes the best. Thus it is proven he died in his favorite place, the
apartment of 'Aisha.
She left this earthly existence for Paradise in the year 58 Hijrah on the 17th of Ramadhan at the age of
66.
She was buried in Jannatul Baqi'. with Abu Hurairah leading the funeral prayers.
Source: http://sistersbookroom.bbactif.com/portal.htm

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Answer Keys for Activities for Hadith # 5


Word Scramble
Answer Key

1. rtcneoiri is criterion.
2. tcsnngosii is consisting.
3. jceedret is rejected.
4. hdaib is bidah.
5. iahbda is ibadah.
6. aijwb is wajib.
7. ashiahr is shariah.

Word Search Puzzle Answer Key


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bidah
consisting
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[Type text]

CRYPTOGRAM Answer Key


A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
19 15 7 14 9 12 17 10 26 20 16 13 2 25 21 23 22 1 3 5 24 8 18 4 6 11

W H O S O E V E R

I N T R O D U C E S

I N T O

18 10 21 3 21 9 8 9 1

26 25 5 1 21 14 24 7 9 3

26 25 5 21

T H I S

A F F A I R

O F

O U R S

5 10 26 3

19 12 12 19 26 1

21 12

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S O M E T H I N G

T H A T

D O E S

N O T

3 21 2 9 5 10 26 25 17

5 10 19 5

14 21 9 3

25 21 5

B E L O N G

T O

15 9 13 21 25 17

5 21

I T ,
26 5

I T

I S

T O

B E

26 5

26 3

5 21

15 9

R E J E C T E D .
1 9 20 9 7 5 9 14

Generated by: http://www.kidzone.ws/puzzles/cryptogram/choose-crypto.asp

[Type text]

Hadith 6
The Text:

On the authority of Abu 'Abdullah al-Nu'man bin Bashir,


, say:

, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah,

"Truly, what is lawful is evident, and what is unlawful is evident, and in between the two are matters
which are doubtful which many people do not know. He who guards against doubtful things keeps his
religion and honour blameless, and he who indulges in doubtful things indulges in fact in unlawful
things, just as a shepherd who pastures his flock round a preserve will soon pasture them in it.
Beware, every king has a preserve, and the things Allah has declared unlawful are His preserves.
Beware, in the body there is a flesh; if it is sound, the whole body is sound, and if it is corrupt, the
whole body is corrupt, and behold, it is the heart."
[Al-Bukhari & Muslim]

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Lessons from
this Hadith

Lessons
The Scholars are of the view that the vast majority of acts fall into one of the first two categories: either it
is evidently lawful or unlawful. Only a minority number of acts fall into the third category, that which is
doubtful.

It can be noted here that the Prophet,


, is using a metaphor, or analogy, twice in this hadith. As
mentioned before, using metaphors or analogies in communicating ideas is very effective and powerful.
From the metaphor and the way it is worded ("just as a shepherd who pastures his flock round a preserve
will soon pasture them in it"), we can say that the doubtful things are closer to the unlawful things.

This hadith emphasizes the importance of glorifying Allah


. If we want to glorify Allah, we have to
glorify His injunctions, commandments, whether they are obligations (so we perform them), or whether
they are prohibitions (so we don't perform them). A Salaf once narrated: "Don't look at how minor the sin
is that you committed, but look at the glory of the One you disobeyed, i.e. Allah
." A sin, even if it is a
minor one, means disobedience to Allah, hence defying the Glorification of Allah. And the glorification of
Allah is actually one of the principles of Tawhid.
We mentioned before that the great actions or the principles of Tawhid are done by the heart. That is why
the heart is mentioned at the end of this hadith. Looking at the hadith at first glance, we might have asked
what the heart has to do with the rest of the hadith. It is in the heart that we glorify Allah. It is the action of
heart when we refrain from the unlawful. If the heart is strong, sound, has no weaknesses, and is full of
iman (faith), then this would lead us to refrain ourselves from muharramat and makruhah (undesirable
acts). Therfore only those with a strong and sound heart, i.e. the heart that is full of love for Allah, fear of
Allah and glorification of Allah, will refrain from the doubtful matters. But those whose hearts are diseased
and whose iman is weak, may go around the doubtful matters. Little by little they will indulge in the
makruhah, delaying things and eventually getting into the muharram or delaying or even negating the
wajib. It has to do with the status of the heart. That is why the scholars talk about the life of the heart. For
example, when you see Muslims praying in the masjid (mosque), you see hundreds of people praying
together. But what distinguishes them is the status of their hearts, whether it is devoted to Allah or not.
How strong and pure is the heart? How sound is the heart? That's where people differ. This is what we
should concern ourselves with, and compete - taking care of our hearts, purifying them, taking away any
diseases from our hearts, to activate iman in the heart in order to make it alive.

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The Prophet,
, mentioned about Abu Bakr as-Sidiq where he said that If you put the iman of all the
Muslim ummah on one scale and the iman of Abu Bakr as-Sidiq on the other scale, the iman of Abu Bakr
as-Sidiq would outweigh the iman of the whole ummah. The Prophet,
, also said that there is
something in the heart of Abu Bakr as-Sidiq that distinguished it from others, and as it is known he was
called as-Sidiq. The Prophet,
, once said about Abu Bakr: "When I call someone to Islam, he will have
some hesitation...except Abu Bakr as-Sidiq. The minute I talked to him about Islam, straight away he
believed in me, he believed in Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah." So it has to do with the heart
that distinguished Abu Bakr as-Sidiq to be al-Khalifatul-Awal, and to be the first Sahabi (Companion).
From this, it can be said that every Muslim should care about his/her heart, purify it and activate iman in
the heart, and practice the great principles of Tawhid, such as to love Allah, to fear Him, to rely on Him, to
have hope in Him, to seek help fro Him and to seek refuge in Him so that the heart is alive, activated and
full of iman. And at the same time we have to make sure that there should be no diseases or anything
bad within our hearts, e.g. greediness, envy, arrogance, etc. Only then will the heart be sound.

In another related hadith the Prophet, , mentioned that: "The heart will be exposed to fitan (trials) again
and again. The heart which is influenced by fitnah will have a black spot placed on it. And if the heart
avoids the fitnah, there will be a white spot on it." The heart then is either a pure one, or a heart that has
been sealed after being affected by fitan or prohibited or doubtful matters again and again. Even though
the heart pumps out blood and the person is alive, the heart in reality is not alive, because the iman is
weak, making the heart unsound. Hence avoiding and getting away from the fitan is important in order to
have a pure heart, especially in these contemporary times where it is full of evil that attracts the heart.

The evil doers promote evil and impose it on others. So if a Muslim is not careful, his/her heart might be
stolen. As mentioned by the great contemporary scholar, Sheikh Abdur Rahman ad-Dusari, there are
many thieves today who steal the hearts, sometimes without the owner even being aware of it.

If you read any hadith of the Prophet,


, it talks about a matter, whether it is something good that we
should do, or something bad that we should not do. And then in the hadith the Prophet,
, will mention a
principle. Usually, the principle, which is the main point of the hadith, is the last words or sentence. The
hadith above mentions about the lawful and unlawful being evident, and then there is the doubtful matter.
And then there is the last sentence of the hadith. This is the bottom-line of the hadith, the main thing, the
main issue. If we want to get away from the muharramat (unlawful), and also from the doubtful matters,
we have to care about our heart. We have to purify our heart and make sure it is sound and alive, and it is
not lost from us.

One wisdom we can learn from the hadith is from the way the Prophet, , tells us about something: he
will discuss a concept and then give us the principle. This principle helps us not only with the concept
mentioned in the hadith, but it actually helps us, if we use it in the right way with the right understanding,
in other similar matters and situations. If we care about our heart, not only will we be able to avoid the
doubtful matters, we can apply the same principle to other similar concepts or issues, e.g. in avoiding bad
manners for there are also doubtful matters in the concept of akhlaq (values).

It was mentioned earlier that Imam al-Bukhari recorded this hadith in Kitab ul-Buyu' (Trading). When it
comes to trading there are many matters that are doubtful, matters which existed then and even now, e.g.

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where cheating is done professionally. Therefore we have to be careful if the matter related to trading is
clear and evident, permissible or not permissible, or if it is doubtful, in which case we have to avoid it.

Related to the above issue is the issue of al-ma'kulat (food) where there are many doubtful matters about
what we eat. If we check the ingredients that are used in many manufactured food today, e.g. biscuits,
canned food and preserved food, there are ingredients that might raise the question of doubtfulness of
what we eat. For example, lecithin is used in the manufacture of foodstuff especially in the west and
Muslim countries import a lot of food from the west. If it is not specified otherwise then there is a high
probability that the lecithin is derived from khanzir (pig) because it is cheaper to produce. Otherwise, it
should be mentioned whether it is derived from soya or plants or from halal production.

Another ingredient is emulsifier. Emulsifiers are labeled as the letter 'E' followed by a series of numbers.
Some emulsifiers contain things that are not permissible. There are efforts done by some Muslim
scientists where they try to identify such ingredients. This can then be used as a checklist to check
against when we buy food for our family. We should be very careful when we read the ingredients of
foodstuff if we want to ensure that what we eat is halal. It is mentioned in a hadith that if what we eat is
haram, even our du'a / supplication is not accepted by Allah.

We should take care of our health. A lot of what we eat today or what is in the market is not fresh. There
are so many preservatives, colouring and chemicals which, if used excessively, might affect our health.
We have to be careful in the sense that although it is in general permissible, if it is used excessively it will
affect our health - then we are not doing good for our health as a Muslim.

Some of the interpreters of the collection of the Forty Hadiths try to identify or pinpoint some matters that
are doubtful in general. Sometimes they mention matters or controversial issues where the related
evidences from the Qur'an and Sunnah are conflicting and there is no apparent way to resolve the
conflict. They mention general matters where views of scholars may also be conflicting. Some permissible
matters might lead a person to do what is forbidden or lead him to fail to do what is obligatory. For
example, the issue of staying up late. According to the view of some scholars, it is makrooh to stay up
late for no valid reason, just chatting or doing nothing or just wasting time. Even though in general it is
permissible, this might lead to other consequences where it might cause the delaying or failing to do the
wajib or it might lead us into doing muharram. The scholars also say that there are matters which were
inferred or concluded based on certain hadiths where the authenticity of the hadith is questionable. They
say this can also be treated as doubtful matters.

The main key to the issue that the Prophet, , gave us, again, is the heart. If we care about our heart,
we will be more sensible. If the heart is sound, strong, full of iman (faith), we will be more responsible, and
we will care more about what we do and what we don't do. This becomes the measure to those matters
which are doubtful.

Even though some interpreters gave some principles by which we can distinguish those doubtful matters,
it can still be debated or questioned. But if the heart is good, strong and full of iman, the person will be
able to distinguish between the doubtful matters and other clear evident matters, where he would also be
able to refrain from the doubtful matters. Sometimes people may know something is haram and not just
doubtful, but yet they still get involved in it because of the weak status of their hearts.

[Type text]

So here again we would like to emphasize the main key to dealing with the problem of doubtful matters is
the heart. If we all care about the heart, make sure it is in a good status, then insha-Allah we will be able
to be saved by the help of Allah. We will be guided by Allah, because the heart will be full of light. When
we say the heart is full of light or guided by light, there are things that we can do that help us to identify
and avoid doubtful matters:

Al-Muhasabah - self accountability


Al-Muraqabah - self reckoning
Thikrullah - the remembrance of Allah. Imam Nawawi himself compiled another book, the Book of
Azkar, where he recorded the hadith about azkar. It is mentioned by the Prophet, , that
remembering Allah will purify the heart. However, we have to do it regularly and on a continuous
basis. We should do the azkar after prayers.

Another thing is as-Salatu 'ala an-Nabi (the sending of prayers and blessings to the Prophet,
). This is
also an important matter. We don't train ourselves to practice this Salatu 'ala an-Nabi,
. We just write
SAW or an alphabet after mentioning the Prophet,
. We even abbreviate the phrase "
[subhanahu
wata'ala]". These are mistakes because du'a cannot be abbreviated. This is commonsense. Why do we
abbreviate? Is it to save our time? Or to save ink? We have to practice saying/writing " " in full because
we are encouraged to do so. The Prophet,
, said: "Do you know the greedy? The one whom my name
is mentioned in front of him or her, and he does not say " ".

In another hadith the Prophet, , said that if we practice as-Salatu 'ala an-Nabi, Allah will send His
"prayers" and blessings upon us (yusalli 'alaih). What does this mean? The scholars explain this by
saying that Allah will guide the person who practices as-Salatu 'ala an-Nabi and gives him the light by
which to distinguish between the good and the bad. It is a light that will be in the heart. This is termed as
as-solatu minallah 'ala al-'abd. Moreover each time we say" " we will be rewarded ten times. Hence we
should strive to not lose out on obtaining all these good things. We should love the Prophet,
, more
than ourselves, our families, our parents or our children.

Conclusion
There are doubtful matters that a Muslim might face in his/her everyday dealings and activities. This
hadith helps the Muslim in dealing with such matters. There is an early ongoing preparation which is
needed in such a case - to purify one's heart. There are some actions that can help us achieve this task,
like: hayya' (modesty), murakabah (self reckoning), muhasabah (self accountability), Thikr (remembrance
of Allah), and as-Salatu 'ala an-Nabi, . These are things that, insha Allah, can help us and enlighten
and purify our heart, and also help us to identify and avoid the doubtful matters - this is the main point, the
key, the principle of the hadith.

"Beware; in the body there is a flesh; if it is sound, the whole body is sound, and if it is corrupt,
the whole body is corrupt, and behold, it is the heart."

[Type text]

Vocabulary
Define the following words.

Shepherd
Corrupt
Incumbent
Pasture
Sound
Consistently
Indulge
Evident
Doubtful
Lawful
Preserve

Word Scramble
Unscramble the words below:

1. ulwlfa________________

2. vntieed________________

3. butfdolu________________

4. nleuigd________________

5. esdrhhpe________________

6. teruspa________________

7. eprsreve________________

8. nsdou________________

9. ropcrtu________________

[Type text]

Comprehension
Check

1. Who is the narrator of this hadith?


a.
b.
c.
d.

The Prophet Muhammad


Abu 'Abdullah al-Nu'man bin BashirFatima bint Muhammad

Abu Talha
Abu Hurayrah

2. The metaphor that the Prophet


used in this hadith lets us know that the
doubtful matters are closer to what?
a. To the things that are halal
b. To the things that are haram
c. They are not close to anything
d. None of the above

3. Glorification of Allah is actually one of the principals of what?


a. Aqeedah
b. Fiqh
c. Tawheen
d. Iman
e. All of the above
f. None of the above

4. How is the heart connected to this hadith?


a. The heart is where the intention is
b. The heart is where we glorify Allah
c. The heart is where we stay away from the unlawful
d. The heart is where the iman is and if it is strong then it is full of love for
Allah and that will lead us to obey Him and stay away from doubtful
matters.
e. A and B only
f. B and C only
g. B, C, and D only
h. All of the above

[Type text]

5. What affect do fitan leave on the heart?


a. The heart will be weak
b. The heart will have white spots on it
c. The heart will have black spots on it
d. All of the above

6. If we want to get away from the muharramat (unlawful acts) and the doubtful acts
we have to do what?
a. We have to repent
b. We have to stay away from everyone
c. We have to take care of our heart
d. None of the above

7. What book of hadith did Imam al-Bukhari report this hadith in?
a. The book of the Heart
b. The book of Iman
c. The book of Food
d. The book of Transactions
e. Imam al-Bukhari did not record this hadith, Imam Muslim recorded it.

8. What did the Prophet


compare the person who indulges in doubtful things to?
a. A person who swims near deep water
b. A person who goes near a farm that does not belong to him.
c. A shepherd who lets his flock pasture near someone elses preserve.
d. None of the above

9. What did the Prophet


say was Allahs preserve?
a. The doubtful matters
b. The things that are halal
c. The things that are haram.
d. A and C only
e. None of the above.

[Type text]

Memorization

Write the text of the hadith from memory below in Arabic or if you
are still learning to write in Arabic, write the text of the hadith English.
After you have written what you remember return to the hadith to
verify that you have written it correctly, leaving nothing out
inshaAllah.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Type text]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Type text]

Memorization

Fill in the blanks inshaAllah.


Several words are missing from the hadith. Use the word bank to fill in
the blanks inshaAllah.

Word Bank
lawful

between

doubtful

honour

unlawful

pastures

preserves

sound

corrupt

heart

On the authority of Abu 'Abdullah al-Nu'man bin Bashir,


Messenger of Allah, , say:

, who said: I heard the

"Truly, what is ______________is evident, and what is unlawful is evident, and in


______________the two are matters which are _____________which many people do
not know. He who guards against doubtful things keeps his religion and
____________blameless, and he who indulges in doubtful things indulges in fact in
_______________things, just as a shepherd who ________________his flock round a
preserve will soon pasture them in it. Beware, every king has a preserve, and the things
Allah has declared unlawful are His________________. Beware, in the body there is a
flesh; if it is sound, the whole body is_____________, and if it is corrupt, the whole body
is________________, and behold, it is the______________."

[Al-Bukhari & Muslim]

[Type text]

Applying what youve


learned

In the table below list some things that you do that you are not sure if they are halal (permissible) or
haram (prohibited). Place these things in the column that says doubtful. Conduct research to find out
if these things fall under the category of halal, haram or doubtful. Record the results of your research in
the columns labeled: Halal and Haram. In the very last column write the proof (daleel) that you found
that helped you know if the action was halal or haram.

Doubtful acts

Halal

Haram

Daleel (Proof)

[Type text]

Personal Reflection

Sheikh Uthameen,
said one of the things we learn from this hadith is that, If a person falls into the
doubtful unclear affairs, then it is likely that he will fall into the (impermissible) clear affairs. So when he
does the doubtful unclear thing, his desires call him to do the (impermissible) clear matter, and at that
point, he is destroyed. He
also said, The focal point of righteousness and corruption is the heart.
Based upon this benefit, it is incumbent upon man to constantly and consistently care for, and protect his
heart until it becomes upright. He
also said that we learn from this hadith that, Outward
corruption is a sign of inner courruption.
Using the information from the table on the previous page, the lessons we learned from this hadith and
from the statements of Sheikh Uthameen

design a schedule for caring for your heart inshaAllah.

There is an example of a heart care planning sheet below inshaAllah:

Day (i.e. Friday)


Time

Heart Care Activity


Read one Hizb of Quran

5:00 a.m.

[Type text]

Activities

Word Search
A
J
D
B
C
L
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H
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F
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M
M
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V
P
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S
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D

W
A
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O
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O
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A
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akhlaq
corrupt
doubtful
evident
indulge
lawful
makruhah
muharram

L
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U
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O
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T
Q
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A
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Z
Z
V
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O
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M
E

O
P
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H
E
D
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U
V

T
N
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A
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G
H
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E

T
A
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P
S

H
A
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E

W
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Q
A
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K
A
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K
O
E
A
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muhasabah
muraqabah
pasture
preserve
shepherd
sound
thikrullah
wajib

E
K
X
M
L
U
F
T
B
U
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A
P
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K
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S

[Type text]

CRYPTOGRAM
A B C D E F G H I

J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

7 4 19 15 1 20 17 2 10 11 21 25 6 12 14 24 3 13 9 18 5 16 23 26 22 8

__ __

__ __ __

__ __ __ __

__ __ __ __ __

__ __

__

10 12

18 2 1

4 14 15 22

18 2 1 13 1

10 9

__ __ __ __ __ ;

__ __

__ __

__ __

20 25 1 9 2

10 20

10 18

10 9

__ __ __ __ __

__ __ __ __

__ __

23 2 14 25 1

4 14 15 22

10 9

__ __ __ __ __ ,
9 14 5 12 15

__ __ __ __ __ ,

__ __ __
18 2 1

__ __ __

9 14 5 12 15

7 12 15

__ __

__ __

__ __

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ ,

__ __ __

10 20

10 18

10 9

19 14 13 13 5 24 18

18 2 1

__ __ __ __ __

__ __ __ __

__ __

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ ,

23 2 14 25 1

4 14 15 22

10 9

19 14 13 13 5 24 18

__ __ __ __ __ __ ,
4 1 2 14 25 15

__ __

__ __

__ __ __

10 18

10 9

18 2 1

__ __ __
7 12 15

__ __ __ __ __ .
2 1 7 13 18

[Type text]

Maze
Solve the maze and draw the part of the body that the Prophet mentioned in this hadith at the end of
the maze inshaAllah.

[Type text]

Answer Key to Activities for Hadith # 6

CRYPTOGRAM
A B C D E F G H I

J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

7 4 19 15 1 20 17 2 10 11 21 25 6 12 14 24 3 13 9 18 5 16 23 26 22 8

10 12

18

14 15 22

18

13

10

18

12 15

20 25

23

14 25

10 20

14 15 22

10 20

10 18

10

14

12 15

10

14

12 15

10

19 14 13 13

24 18

23

14 25

14 15 22

14 25 15

10 18

10 18

18

10

19 14 13 13

24 18

12 15

10

18

13 18

[Type text]

Word Scramble
Answer Key

1. ulwlfa is lawful.
2. vntieed is evident.
3. butfdolu is doubtful.
4. nleuigd is indulge.
5. esdrhhpe is shepherd.
6. teruspa is pasture.
7. eprsreve is preserve.
8. nsdou is sound.
9. ropcrtu is corrupt.

Word Search Answer Key


A
J
D
B
C
L
X
H
I
D
F
H
M
M
M
G

V
P
E
G
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K
E
A
U
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L
A
C

S
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A
F
R
V
J
V
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H
C
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N
H
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H

M
L
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S
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A
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D

W
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T
O
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O
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A
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L
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G
H
F

O
N
X
R
D
U
R
H
A
B
A
S
A
H
U
M

T
Q
U
N
R
A
M
E
Z
Z
V
H
O
G
M
E

O
P
I
K
Q
K
H
E
D
Y
N
H
W
F
U
V

T
N
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A
B
C
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G
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T
A
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H
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E
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K
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